Does Smoking Really Affect Your Teeth?
Let's face it; a smoke break wouldn't be near as effective if one couldn't smoke! But can smoking significantly affect the appearance of your teeth? The answer is absolutely. In fact, nicotine stains, according to a vast majority of dental professionals, can be one of the most difficult surface stains to remove. Removing stains cause by the nicotine in smoking can take up to twice as long to whiten or lighten. There are some cases where patients have continued to lighten their teeth, never reaching the desired shade of white. Most cigarettes (commercial, mainstream cigarettes) produce what scientists consider to be a black smoke. Black smoke penetrates through the enamel making its way into the tooth, bonding and discoloring the salt crystals that form the overall tooth. While there is no debating the challenge of managing nicotine staining in the teeth, for those avid smokers, that know they have no plans of giving it up, there are a few things that can be done to minimize