SMOKING AND GUM DISEASE

as a dentist, i have always had a problem with preaching to patients about the dangers of smoking. this is because i am sure anyone who smokes has already had a handful of caring friends and/or family members to hammer them about the dangers of smoking.
as part of my commitment to educating my patients (and to those who read my blog) i know i need to address a major issue that smoking presents for oral health.
while the thrust of the post will not be about cancer, look at the stats out there. oral cancer can be a very aggressive cancer and smoking absolutely contributes to oral cancer. what i want to discuss is the problem that smoking creates for the patient as far as gum disease.
one of the major signs of gum disease is bleeding gum tissues. unfortunately, bleeding gums is something many people have accepted as normal (i don't think anyone would think that a cut on their arm bleeding for 3-4 weeks is anywhere close to normal). when someone smokes, their gum tissue often undergoes changes which make the tissue fibrotic. normal gum tissue is full of blood vessels and is firm (not hard). fibrotic gum tissue (the result of the constant trauma of the smoke and heat from the cigarettes and cigars) is beyod firm, it is hard and will not bleed very easily. fibrotic gum tissue will hide the first tell tale signs of gum disease, bleeding gums.
the bottom line, smoking is a causative agent for gum disease and may allow for accelerated breakdown due to gum disease. think about this before you light up the next time.