Saturday, 13 July 2013

LIFE STYLE EFFECT ON ORAL HEALTH


Smoking

The habit of smoking is common in the society despite the warning packed with its advertisement. While many have attributed its use to “stress relieve” some engage in it as juvenile delinquency from peer group. Tobacco smoking habit exists in all categories of people irrespective of their social and economic status. Age and tribe are no barriers to smoking. It is good to know the ills associated with smoking and decide to be ready for its consequences otherwise don’t smoke. In some individuals smoking and alcohol consumption is preferred to smoking only and in this case it is more dangerous because the alcohol serves as a solvent to dissolve the nicotine in cigarette which irritates the oral mucosa and subsequent damage.

Smoking has damaging effects on the oral and general health of human.

Research has demonstrated the habit of smoking to be linked with stains, plague, calculus accumulation, periodontitis, smokers’ palate and ultimately oral cancer. Betel quid and smokeless tobacco engaged in by some tribes are associated with premalignant lesions, elevated blood pressure and worsening periodontal disease. Smoking can be active or passive. An active smoking is that engaged by an individual while passive smoking is one in close contact with smoke be it from cooking or smokers. All forms of tobacco smoking have been strongly linked to oral cancer (Regezi, et al., 2008).Tuberculosis, and other respiratory illnesses are predisposed to by smoking. The addictive effect of nicotine constituent of cigarrete makes it difficult for cessation while its carcinogenic effect predisposes smokers to cancer.

Alcohol consumption

Alcohol irritates the mucosa and acts as solvent for cancer causing substances e.g. tobacco thus increasing its chances of causing oral cancer. Aside oral cancer, alcohol consumption is associated with many ill health conditions e.g. alcoholism, malnutrition, chronic pancreatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and cancer (wikipedia)

Chewing Kolanut

Kola stains the teeth with black colour; the stains attract plague and calculus accumulation hence poor oral hygiene and eventual bad breathe (mouth odour).

Bruxism i.e. grinding the teeth unconsciously or in anger

This causes wearing away of the top surfaces of the teeth hence reduced occlusal vertical dimension thus causing pain at the temporomandibular joint (Joint in the region of the ears).

Consumption of carbonated drinks, soft drinks and fruit juices without use of straw causes erosion of teeth thus yellow colouration of surfaces of teeth from dentine exposure and subsequent dentine sensitivity to cold or hot drinks.

Sedentary lifestyle

This is an act of inactivity and dangerous to health as it is linked with high rate of heart attack and stroke. Muscle atrophy of disuse which makes daily activities of bathing and washing difficult. People with sedentary lifestyle are also prone to hypertension (James H. Rimmer, 2006)  

 Tooth picking

Is associated with periodontitis as discussed at dentistng.com
Some individuals are fond of picking their teeth with or without food. Improper tooth picking technique causes trauma to the gum and bone around the teeth. The teeth may become mobile, infected and later fall off on their own. Make use of dental floss instead of tooth pick.
Win yourself off detrimental habits to health.

 

2 comments:

  1. Smoking effect on your health badly so it is necessary to quit smoking. I quit smoking with the help of electronic cigarettes. You can also try this product as it does not harm your body. It doesn't contain any harmful chemical and not produce smoke as well as provide you different flavor options. For more information visit this blog-http://blog.best4ecigs.com/2013/07/an-electronic-cigarette-beginner.html

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  2. Smoking is really a bad habit that is associated with lots of problems. I don’t think so that there is any advantage of smoking cigarettes. My uncle was a smoker and he use to smoke cigarettes when he was in stress, but actually cigarette smoking does not reduce stress. Cancer is one of the most common diseases found in many people every year and those who smoke cigarettes are at higher chances of having cancer. It has its bad impact on oral health too and yes, bad breath, gum disease, tooth discoloration etc are common problems because of smoking. My uncle who was a smoker for 5 years, really want to quit the habit of smoking and with our family support he was successful in doing so. We are now happy that he has quit this bad habit. The next problem after quitting smoking was stains on his teeth because of excessive smoking and use of tea and coffee. He consulted a dentist and he suggested him laser teeth whitening for getting rid of stains on his teeth. It is very effective process and now, he does not have bad breathe and stains. You can have a look at this for further reference http://www.havanatherapy.com/teeth-whitening

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