Tobacco use causes serious effects on the mouth, according to the American Dental Association, or ADA. Smoking and other types of tobacco use cause oral cancer, stained teeth, bad breath, gum disease, tooth loss and decreased sense of taste and smell.
Tooth and Gum Disease
Periodontal disease, or gum disease, may be caused by smoking in 75 percent of cases, warns the ADA. The attachment of bone and soft tissue to the teeth is damaged by tobacco products. Tobacco in any form can cause the gums to recede, or pull back from the teeth. Receding gums expose the roots of the teeth, increasing the risk of decay and sensitivity. Tobacco also stains the teeth.
Oral Cancer
Smoking cigarettes, cigars, pipes and hookahs, and chewing tobacco, causes several types of mouth, or oral, cancers. All tobacco users, whether or not they inhale, expose their lips, mouth, tongue and throat to the cancer-causing chemicals. Tobacco users suffer from cancer of the lips, tongue, mouth and throat. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, 50,000 individuals are diagnosed with oral cancer each year, and 13,500 deaths occur. Oral cancer is hard to discover, and therefore is often not found until it has already spread to another part of the body and is much harder to treat.
Bad Breath
According to MayoClinic.com, in addition to tobacco causing its own characteristic mouth odor, it also causes dry mouth. Dry mouth contributes to bad breath because saliva flow, which helps to cleanse the mouth, is reduced. Smokers are also prone to dental disease, another cause of halitosis. Cigarette odor can linger on the breath for more than a day after smoking, and can be detected on the breath of those that do not smoke but are exposed to cigarette smoke. Smokers suffer from persistent bad breath, or halitosis.
