The Dangers of Smoking With Braces

Braces are a pretty big investment, and it would be a real shame to waste their benefits by smoking. Braces are meant to straighten and support your teeth, but smoking can mess with that progress and cause some problems.

Here’s why it’s a good idea to ditch the cigarettes if you’re thinking about getting braces or already have them.

1. Compromising the Treatment

After investing all that time and money into your braces, you definitely don’t want smoking to mess things up. 

Smoking can slow down the straightening process and even damage the wires and brackets. It’s like your braces are hard at work, and then smoking is like tossing a smoke bomb in there that just disrupts everything.

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Not only does smoking cause stains, but it can also wear down the brackets faster. It’s a major culprit for gum disease, which could lead to tooth loss and mess up your braces even more.

2. Dental Discoloration and Staining

Never mix smoking with braces and a drink that stains your teeth—it’s a recipe for a dental disaster. Smoking makes your teeth discolour and stain, and with braces on, those stains can stick around the brackets and wires.

Who wants a smile with yellow and brown stains? If you want your teeth to stay nice and white, it might be time to seriously think about quitting smoking.

3. Increased Risk of Gum Disease

Braces already demand a bit more TLC when it comes to oral hygiene, but throw smoking into the mix, and you’re flirting with gum disease. 

As mentioned, the chemicals in cigarette smoke weaken your oral defense against bacteria, making it easier for those little troublemakers to set up camp. 

Gum disease is uncomfortable, can wreak havoc on your dental alignment, and render your braces ineffective at their task.

Bacteria from any gum disease can also stay on your braces, so stop smoking and don’t let your braces be the gateway to gum issues – give your gums the love they deserve. Brush, floss, and chuck the smokes to the curb. Your gums and your braces will thank you for it.

4. Slower Healing Process

No one wants to be stuck with braces longer than necessary. Smoking, though, can slow down the healing process. 

Your braces are glued to your teeth to keep them in line. To do their job well, they need a clean environment to align the teeth and fix their appearance. 

Unfortunately, smoking, with all its toxins, can compromise the process and make it longer and much more painful to get that perfect smile.

So, if you want to speed up the process, quitting during the treatment – or quitting entirely – is always the best course of action.

5. Weakening Tooth Enamel

It’s no surprise that all the dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke can damage and degrade your enamel, the support structure and defender of your teeth. Smoking, however, chips away at that defence, leaving your teeth vulnerable to decay.

With braces in the picture, the enamel of your teeth is already dealing with some drastic and possibly damaging changes. Adding smoking to the mix is just inviting trouble and wasting your entire dental treatment. 

So, if you care about the long-term health of your teeth, it might be time to consider parting ways with the smokes.

Can I Vape With Braces?

While vaping is often considered a “safer” alternative to smoking, it’s not an automatic green light for braces either. 

Nicotine vaping products (NVPs) do not have the dangerous chemicals of cigarette smoke. Nicotine, the addictive product in both cigarettes and vaping products, does not affect your dental health in any way.

However, it is highly recommended that you speak to a GP about your best course of action.

Summary

With all things considered, it’s important to know that smoking with braces before or after does not do any good for your dental health. It’s best to keep the healing process natural to get the best results from your dental treatment.

If you’re having difficulty quitting smoking, we can always help you get started on your quit journey, whether you’re going through an oral treatment or otherwise. 

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good, including using responsible vaping products where appropriate.

Click here to book your telehealth consultation with an Australian healthcare professional and quit smoking today.

Link Reference

• https://www.glowdental.co.uk/smoking-and-how-it-affects-your-braces/
• https://www.johngoodmandds.net/blog/2014/08/20/restoring-the-brightness-of-teeth-147956