About the Effect of Smoking on the Mouth
Smoking not only affects your lungs but also damages your mouth and throat. The mouth is the body's entry point for air and food. When you smoke, you inhale a large number of chemicals into your mouth. Many of these chemicals are harmful and can cause a variety of mouth diseases, including cancers.-
Features
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According to the American Cancer Society, cigarette smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals, of those, at least 400 are toxic to humans. Cigarette smoke also contains substances that can cause cancers such as butane, ammonia, methoprene, cadmium, tar and formaldehyde. Cigarette smoke also carries a substantial amount of heat into the mouth. The tip of a cigarette burns at 700°C.
Effects
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Exposure to carcinogens in cigarette smoke can cause mouth and throat cancers. Smokers are much more likely to get mouth cancers (also known as oral cancers). Smoking is associated with 70 to 80 percent of cases of oral cancer. The carcinogens cause gene mutations, which affect normal cell functions, like growth and division. This leads to onset of pre-cancer, and eventually cancer of the mouth.
Smoking affects dental health. Smoke stains your teeth. Smokers tend to develop gum diseases. The resistance of gum to bacteria is significantly reduced since smoking reduces blood and oxygen supplied to the gum. Unlike healthy gums, which are firm and pink, smoker's gums are loose and pale. Consequently, smokers are more likely to develop mouth and gum sores, and bad breath. In extreme cases, smokers suffer from trench mouth as their gums disintegrate, exposing their teeth.
Leukoplakia and erythroplakia are other mouth diseases associated with smoking. Leukoplakia are white and thickened patches. Erythroplakia are red patches, sometimes bleeding. Both leukoplakia and erythroplakia, if left untreated, become cancer.
Significance
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On average, smokers are 6 times more likely to develop and to die from mouth-related diseases than non-smokers. This strongly depends on the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The risk is particularly high with heavy smokers.
Every year, there are about 35,000 new cases of mouth cancers. Most mouth cancers are diagnosed as advanced cancers. This is particularly unfortunate since mouth cancers can be detected early by simple examination at a dental office. Furthermore, early-stage mouth cancers are highly curable, with a 5-year survival rate of more than 80 percent. Successful smoking cessation significantly reduces the risks of both mouth cancer and severe gum diseases.
Misconceptions
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Many believe that nicotine is what causes mouth cancer and other smoking-related cancers. In fact, it only causes the addiction to smoking. Cancers originate from the presence of the carcinogens in cigarette smoke. The heat from smoke is another contributing factor to cancer.
Identification
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The symptoms of mouth cancer include: persistent ulcers or persistent pain in the mouth, presence of red or white patches in the mouth, voice changes, weight loss with no particular reason, and difficulty swallowing.
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