Can You Smoke with Braces? Everthing You Need to Know

Can you smoke with braces? Unfortunately, when undergoing orthodontic treatment, such as braces or Invisalign in Bonney Lake, smoking can negatively affect the results. In some cases, smoking can prevent you from achieving that healthy, beautiful smile you hope for.

Smoking puts you at much higher risk for many oral and general health concerns during treatment. This includes e-cigarettes and vaping, containing nicotine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carcinogens, and heavy metals.

Alarmingly, cigarette smoking 90% of all lung cancers, and the risk for oral cancers is ten times higher. There are 60 known cancer-causing agents in cigarettes. Nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S. are linked to these products.

Smoking also changes your smile as it stains teeth and dental appliances. If you wear clear braces or aligners, this will be particularly noticeable. Orthodontic Excellence wants to help everyone achieve the bright, healthy smile they always wanted. By reaching this goal, you can transform your life, looking and feeling better than ever.

Smoking Stains Teeth and Braces

Smoking can easily stain teeth and braces. Even when not smoking, smoke particles remain in the lungs, causing lingering bad breath and stains.

When it’s time to remove braces, there may be a noticeable line where smoking has discolored around the brackets. Then, it may take costly professional whitening to remove the stains.

Likewise, smoking will discolor clear aligners like Invisalign. Even if you don’t smoke with the aligners in place, the lingering residue can turn aligners yellowish. Worse, this residue remains trapped under aligners, accelerating the damage it can cause to teeth and gums.

How Smoking Affects Oral Health

For everyone, taking care of your oral health during orthodontic treatment helps make the experience faster and more comfortable. For example, we recommend everyone with braces avoid or limit sugary, sticky, hard, or crunchy foods during treatment. When you eat foods like these, they coat the teeth and leave behind particles. Then, it’s a challenge to clean adequately around wires and brackets. Consequently, one can be at risk for tooth decay.

Similarly, smoking coats the teeth with a residue that encourages the same bad bacteria. Due to a lack of saliva production, the residue isn’t flushed away as it would tend to be by a non-smoker. Tartar buildup can harden to calculus and cause tooth decay. Only a dentist can remove this kind of buildup which gets below the gum line.

When you smoke, it puts you at higher risk for many oral health concerns. Shockingly, smokers have an 80 percent higher risk of periodontal disease and bone loss compared to non-smokers.

Can You Smoke with Braces? Yes, But It Has Adverse Effects

Here are some oral health concerns smokers may experience:

• high risk of tooth decay
• tooth loss and difficulty recovering from the extraction
• receding gums and painful gingivitis
• periodontal (gum) disease
• high risk of oral and lung cancer
• bad breath and lingering bad taste or lack of taste
• weakened immune system
• reduced blood flow around gums
• dry mouth
• unsightly yellow teeth
• tooth loss and underlying bone loss

Can you smoke with braces? When receiving orthodontic treatment, a non-smoker enjoys the benefit of avoiding oral health concerns like these. Sadly, smoking can prevent people from enjoying the life-changing benefits of braces.

Smoking Delays or Prevents Getting Results

When anyone wears braces, they want to get results as quickly as possible. Then, they can return to their normal routine and start showing off their pretty smiles. However, smoking can make treatment much slower. In some cases, it can prevent getting the results you deserve.

By smoking, you can reduce the blood flow in the gums, making it harder to heal from infections. Also, the lack of blood supply can make it harder to detect advanced gum disease. Due to the receding tissue, teeth can become loose, and the underlying bone can become infected.

If tooth decay or gum disease is present, it will require care from a dentist before orthodontic care can continue. For example, you may require fillings, a root canal, or deep cleanings to reverse the problem of gum disease. However, smokers may not respond as well to treatment, further delaying or preventing successful orthodontic care.

Those Who Stop Smoking See Immediate Benefits

So, can you smoke with braces? The answer is yes, but it is highly discouraged. The truth is, it’s never too late to stop smoking, even for chronic smokers. Studies show people who stopped smoking see significant health benefits for their oral health.

According to the American Cancer Society, your body can begin recovering within minutes of your last cigarette. By two weeks, your blood circulation and lung function can improve. From there, each month that you avoid smoking leads to incredible improvements to health and appearance.

Right away, food starts tasting better, and your breath is fresher. Soon, your risk for gum disease decreases, and your oral health improves. 

Get the Results You Want with Braces in Puyallup & Bonney Lake, WA

We hope this helps if you’ve asked, “Can you smoke with braces?” Yes, it will affect treatment, but by stopping, you’ll be able to enjoy the better health and smile you always wanted.

At Orthodontic Excellence in Puyallup & Bonney Lake, WA, we want to help you get the best out of your orthodontic investment. Getting braces and Invisalign to correct the alignment of your teeth and improve your smile doesn’t need to be stressful and limiting. Our warm doctors and staff understand your needs and do their best to meet them.

We hope we answered your question, “Can you smoke with braces?” Contact us today to raise any more inquiries you might have or schedule an appointment. We look forward to a memorable treatment time with you!

 

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