Need another reason not to vape? Your oral health is at risk

By Michael Precker, American Heart Association News

Bojan89/iStock, Getty Images
(Bojan89/iStock, Getty Images)



Because e-cigarettes are a recent phenomenon, said Dr. Crystal Stinson, assistant professor at Texas A&M College of Dentistry in Dallas, "Studies on their impact are really new. But now we have a solid amount of evidence that shows the link between e-cigarettes and poor oral health."



"The oral cavity is really resilient tissue that heals faster than other parts of the body," Stinson said. "But we also know that when you repeatedly traumatize it, that's when you end up having issues that are irreversible."



"It's absolutely scary stuff," said Dr. Purnima Kumar, professor at the Ohio State University College of Dentistry and the study's senior author. "E-cigarettes stress the bacterial communities that live in your mouth, and they encase themselves in slime. So they're no longer good bacteria and the inflammatory response is through the roof. People are walking around thinking they're healthy, but they are just primed for disease."



"We've just scratched the surface," Kumar said. "We know it's detrimental. We need to start looking at which chemical components of vape really cause this, why does it cause this, how long does it take to start, and how long does the body need to recover once you quit."

Not enough time has passed since vaping became popular to assess the long-term dangers, Stinson said. "Unfortunately, everybody's an experiment right now."

But Stinson doesn't need to wait for more studies to be convinced of the dangers of vaping. One look inside a vaper's mouth usually tells the story.

"Periodontal disease is normally an adult disease, and we're seeing it in younger people," she said. "Younger people normally have more saliva than they need, so when they present with dry mouth, periodontal disease or increased complaints of mouth ulcers, our next question is, 'Do you vape?' These symptoms are all tied to components in e-cigarettes."



"Phasing out the flavors is going to help, but we still have a population that is struggling to let go of the habit," she said.


The first lesson: Don't be fooled into thinking that what looks like steam is a safe alternative to cigarette smoke.

"You hear 'vapor' and you think steam facials or a tea kettle," Kumar said. "It's not a vapor. It's an aerosol, like hairspray or what you use to kill ants and cockroaches. When I teach young kids, I take little cans of hairspray and say, 'I want you to spray this in your mouth.'

"They say, 'Ew, no.' So, I say, 'Then why would you vape?'"


American Heart Association News Stories



