Is Vaping Bad for Teeth and Gums?

1 Nov 2024

Around the world, 82 million people vape.
It’s rapidly become a popular choice for people trying to move away from smoking traditional cigarettes to electronic cigarettes.
However, it has also become very fashionable for young people. According to the CDC, 1 in 5 high school students used a vape pen in 2020.
With its increase in popularity, the side effects of vaping have become a real concern.
For your teeth, tooth decay, gum recession, enamel damage, and even tooth loss have become major sources of study.
Whether you vape recreationally or are using it to quit, understanding its impact on your oral health is essential for healthy teeth and a better smile.

Are Vaping and Smoking the Same?

While both vaping and smoking involve inhaling substances, the processes and health risks differ. Let’s explore how each one affects your body, especially your oral health.

What happens when you smoke?

When you smoke, you burn tobacco. This releases nicotine, but also 7000 other chemicals. As you breathe in, you absorb these chemicals through your lungs.

What happens when you smoke?

When you smoke, you burn tobacco. This releases nicotine, but also 7000 other chemicals. As you breathe in, you absorb these chemicals through your lungs.

What happens when you vape?

Vapes or e-cigarettes use a battery to heat a liquid and turn it into vapor. The vapor is absorbed into the lungs in the same way as smoke.
In both cases, the smoke and vapor are taken in through your mouth, affecting your teeth in different ways. However, vaping also comes with its own set of health risks, particularly for oral health.

Components of e-cigarettes

The liquid in a vape is made up of several different things.

Propylene Glycol or Vegetable Glycerin
Nicotine
Flavorings

The vape heats this mixture using a “coil, ” turning the liquid into a gas or vapor.
The gas contains nicotine and other chemicals – some of these chemicals are bad for our teeth. While e-cigarettes are often marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, they still contain harmful chemicals that can affect your oral health.

What are the oral side effects of vaping?

The different chemicals in the vapor make changes to your mouth. These changes can damage your teeth.

1. Dry mouth: Vaping reduces the amount of saliva (or spit) you produce, making gum disease (periodontal disease) much more likely.
2. More Bacteria: The chemicals in vapor are great for germs and bacteria, which cause bad breath and tooth decay.
3. Inflammation: Vaping can cause swelling and red gums, leading to periodontal disease (gum disease) or gum recession.
4. Damaged Enamel: Some of the chemicals can impact the strength of your enamel, causing tooth decay and tooth loss.

Potential risk of oral cancer: Some studies suggest that vaping can damage cells in the mouth, potentially leading to oral cancer.

Is Dry Mouth Bad?

Saliva, or spit, is essential. It contains many substances that help kill bacteria, break down food, and stop acid.

Does vaping cause dry mouth?

One of the side effects of vaping that is especially important for gum disease is that is reduces the amount of saliva in your mouth.
Many of the ingredients lessen how much saliva your mouth creates, especially Propolyne Glycol.
This makes it harder for your body to:

Stop acid attacking your teeth
Wash away food that helps bacteria grow
Repair your teeth

What Happens If I Get Dry Mouth All The Time?

When your body can’t remove acid or food particles, you increase the risk to your teeth.
People who experience dry mouth often have:

A higher risk of gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss
Find it harder to swallow, chew and speak
Can’t taste as well
Have bad breath

If you vape, you can have a dry mouth more often, which can damage your teeth. It’s essential to be careful when vaping so you can avoid these problems.

What Is Your Oral Microbiome and Oral Health?

Your mouth is also full of good bacteria. They work with your body to help break down food and protect your gums and teeth.
Because of the ingredients of vapor, people who vape have a different oral microbiome than smokers and people who don’t smoke or vape. This is similar to the changes seen in people who use traditional tobacco products.
This means there is a higher chance of bad bacteria growing in your mouth.

What Affects Your Oral Microbiome?

Vaping can disrupt the balance of bacteria in your mouth, leading to potential oral health issues. Below, we’ll look at how vaping affects the types of bacteria in your mouth and the problems that can arise from this imbalance.

The Type of Bacteria in your mouth

Vaping increases the amount of bad bacteria (such as Veillonella and Fusobacterium).
These bacteria can form colonies that create bad breath or even abscesses that require antibiotics or tooth removal.
Without care, these can lead to a nasty infection and expensive treatment.

The biofilm of your mouth

Your mouth has a layer of good bacteria protecting your gums and teeth.
The ingredients in a vape can slow or stop the growth of good bacteria, leaving your mouth unprotected. These ingredients can also irritate and damage the soft tissue in your mouth.
This can cause tooth decay and gum recession or infections like periodontal disease.

The risk of infections

Vaping can damage your gums, making them swell up and become inflamed.
This makes your immune system less effective at fighting infection.
Gum damage and a lower amount of good bacteria mean that vaping makes it more likely you will get an infection.

What Are The Side Effects Of Vaping On Teeth?

Vaping may seem like a safer option than smoking, but it can still affect your oral health. The chemicals and heat from vapor can lead to various dental issues. Let’s explore some common side effects, starting with tooth discoloration.

Tooth discoloration

Vape liquid is a brown-yellow color, and this can stain your teeth.
Brown or yellow teeth can impact your smile and confidence, making it harder to meet new people and come across well when it’s important.
The chemicals in the vapor can create deep stains which brushing cannot remove.
Luckily, if you have any concerns about tooth discoloration, professional teeth cleaning can help. It’s simple and easy; book your professional whitening here.

Does Vaping Cause Tooth Decay?

Vaping can cause tooth decay because it creates more cavities, erodes the enamel of your teeth, and leads to receding gums.

More Cavities

The liquid in vapes is perfect for bacteria.
They love the sugary ingredients like propylene glycol found in vape juice. More bad bacteria can lead to more cavities.
Scientists believe that there is a higher risk of tooth decay and tooth loss for people who vape.
If you have tooth pain or a toothache, book a check-up with us to ensure your teeth are healthy.

Enamel erosion

Some of the ingredients in a vape can be acidic, damaging the white part of teeth, known as tooth enamel.
The acid makes your teeth weaker. This means you are more likely to get toothache or tooth decay.
In some cases, nicotine can cause you to grind your teeth, which can damage them too.

Gum inflammation and recession

Some people who use vapes notice their gums getting smaller. This impacts their smile and also increases the chance of gum disease.
In serious cases, smaller gums and gum recession can cause tooth loss, which is called “clinical attachment loss.”
This is a serious condition and can impact your health and confidence.
If you are worried about your gums getting smaller, quick, easy, and modern treatments are available to save your teeth.

Learn more about it here.

How To Look After Your Teeth When Vaping

There are some steps that will help you avoid these problems when vaping:

Book regular check-ups: your dentist can help you catch problems early, reducing the pain and cost of future treatments.
Practice good oral hygiene: brush twice a day and use floss. Consider an electric toothbrush as these are better at removing plaque and bacteria.
Rinse your mouth out after vaping: this removes any leftover vape chemicals, protecting your oral microbiome and biofilm.
Increase Saliva Production: chew gum and drink lots of water to avoid the problems associated with dry mouth.

How to quit vaping

Here at Greenspoint, we can look after your teeth. But the best way to quit smoking and vaping if you want to is to talk to your doctor.
Quitting smoking is crucial for improving oral health, and many resources are available to help you on this journey. You can find things online to help, such as “This is Quitting” and “My Life, My Quit.”
They can help with everything from nicotine withdrawal to managing your cravings.

FAQs

Does vaping have negative effects on teeth and gums?

Yes, vaping can cause receding gums and gum disease, as well as tooth decay and tooth loss.

If I quit vaping, will my gums start to heal?

Yes, the increased saliva and blood flow to your gums will help them heal. Dentists can also offer treatment to speed things up.

Can a dentist determine if someone vapes?

Dentists can see the impact of vaping and any early signs of problems, which is why it’s a good idea to book a checkup once every six months.

Is there a link between vaping and bone loss in teeth?

Vaping can cause gum disease, or periodontal disease, which can cause bone loss.