Given how a recent survey showed that 37% of high school seniors and more than 17% of eighth-graders have vaped at least once in the past year, it’s important to explain the harm that vaping can cause on our oral health. As we’ve already written an article on the dangerous side effects that cigarettes can inflict on oral health (click here to read), we thought it’d be beneficial for our readers to understand that vaping can also cause similar and detrimental impacts on our smile. Vaping, unfortunately, has garnered an inaccurate representation over the past few years for being a healthier alternative, however, below we explain the many harmful ways that regularly vaping can negatively impact your oral health.

How Vaping Impacts Oral Health

While research on these devices has struggled to keep up, vaping and other e-cigarette options have significantly grown in popularity over the last decade. Fortunately, studies so far have hypothesized that vaping does pose fewer oral health risks than cigarettes, although this could inaccurately encourage vapers to up their usage. 

When you vape, you’re introducing addictive nicotine into your body along with various sticky forms of glycol. These assorted substances can change the overall bacterial makeup of your mouth in ways that science still has yet to discover. As studies are still being conducted on vaping’s impact on oral health, here are indisputable detrimental links:

• Stained Teeth: Nicotine, inhaled in any form, leads to yellow and discolored teeth.
• Bruxism: Also known as the term to define one who clenches their teeth, bruxism is a harmful result of vaping. Given how nicotine is a potent muscle stimulant, this action can happen without the vapers knowledge as they can grind their teeth while sleeping which leads to flattened surfaces in one’s bite.
• Dry Mouth: Nicotine reduces saliva production, which can result in less saliva in the mouth. Saliva is crucial for neutralizing harmful acids and it helps maintain a healthy oral environment.
• Oral Cancers: Vaping has been linked to oral cancers as well as other cancers.
• Reduced Oxygen and Blood Flow: Nicotine causes restricted blood flow in the gums, which decreases the mouth’s natural ability to replenish tissue and fight infections. Additionally, due to the decrease in blood flow, nicotine reduces gum tissue turnover, lowers cell function, and affects overall health in numerous way.

On-top of all the oral health risks that vapers commonly face, there’s always the potential of the lithium battery in your vaporizers to overheat and explode in your face. If you’re regularly vaping and experience any of the following oral health conditions, it’s vital to reduce your usage and visit your veterinarian right away:

• Sensitive or bleeding gums
• Chronic dry mouth
• Sores in the mouth that aren’t healing
• Receding gums
• Loose teeth
• Any unusual oral pain

Practice Optimal Oral Health with GumChucks

To prevent these numerous painful health complications, it’s important to practice affective oral health habits along with reducing, or completely quitting, your vaping usage. Flossing is the only way to remove this tartar from between your teeth and keep plaque out of hard-to-reach places. Some modern flossing accessories, GumChucks being the prime example, are specifically designed to accomplish C-Shape flossing. Unlike one-piece flossers that hold the floss in a rigid position, GumChucks’ two-handle device gives you better leverage, letting you control the tension of the floss and allowing you to effectively clean the sides of each tooth. The handles make it easier for everyone to floss, especially those with limited dexterity, with the added bonus of never having to stick your fingers in your mouth!

GumChucks’ design ensures a flossing experience that’s faster, easier, and more effective than competing flossers or traditional floss. Our two handles with disposable floss allow you to comfortably reach all your teeth, even those in the back, while wrapping the floss around each tooth. This creates the vital “C-Shape” necessary to get below the gum line and effectively clean each tooth.