Is vaping bad for your oral health?

Vaping has become popular in recent years, with many people switching from cigarettes to vaping instead.

However, how vaping affect your oral health? This post, we will examine the most recent scientific research to try to answer this question.

What effect does vaping have on your oral health?

Because vaping is such a new trend, no one knows for sure how it affects our health. However, some studies have already been performed on the topic.

Overall, studies suggest that vaping harms our oral health. Evidence shows that vaping can cause problems such as dry mouth, gum inflammation end even cavities.

Cavities. According to one study, people who use e-cigarettes have more bacteria on their teeth those who don’t. The difference is particularly strong in the crevices and pits of the teeth. In theory, this could lead to cavities, because bacteria create holes in the enamel.
Dry mouth. E-cigarettes have also been associated with dry mouth. This is especially the case with e-cigarettes that use propylene glycol as their base liquid. Dry mouth is associated with bad breath, gum inflammation and even tooth decay.
Inflammation. A study in 2016 found that e-cigarettes seem to cause an inflammatory response in gum tissues. Typically, gum inflammation is linked to a buildup of bacteria on the gums. Furthermore, vaping has also been shown to irritate the throat and mouth too. Symptoms of this irritation can include swelling, tenderness and redness.
Cell death. A review last year suggested that vaping can damage the DNA inside of your cells, which can cause the cells to die. In your mouth, this could cause issues such as dry mouth, bad breath, tooth decay and even tooth loss. However, the cells in the study were tested in a laboratory; it is uncertain whether the results would be the same in real life. More research is needed to better understand how vaping affects cells.

How does vaping compare to smoking?

It seems that vaping is bad for our oral health. But how does it compare to smoking cigarettes?

Studies show that vaping seems to be much better for your teeth and overall oral health than cigarettes.

A study in 2016 looked at people who had switched from cigarettes to vaping. The researchers found that the switch led to improved oral health, including less plaque and less gum bleeding.

A study in 2017 compared people who smoked cigarettes to people who vaped. The study found that the group of smokers had higher levels of plaque and greater gum pain than the vapers.

Finally, a study in 2018 compared people who smoke, people who vape and people who do neither. The study found that the smokers had a higher level of gum inflammation than the other two groups.

Conclusion

Is vaping bad for your oral health? Some studies suggest that yes, it is. However, more studies are needed to confirm the findings. However, if you are a vaper, then you can at least take comfort from the fact that vaping does less damage to your oral health than cigarettes,

So, the bottom line is: don’t vape. But if you have to decide between vaping and smoking, then go with vaping.