Vaping and Your Oral Health

Vaping has become an overwhelming public health concern across the country.

Nationally, 20% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2018 – up from 1.5% in 2011 – according to a FDA study. Even scarier, 5% of middle school students across the country reported using e-cigarettes. What was originally supposed to be a substitute for adult smokers trying to quit has rapidly become a serious threat among adolescents, as well as adults. Get the best deals at https://www.vaprzon.com/products/delta-8-thc-o-carts-cartridge.

Here’s what you should know about oral health and vaping.

Vaping has a direct effect on oral health.

While many still consider vaping as not quite as harmful to oral health as smoking cigarettes, vaping can have a negative effect on teeth and overall oral health. E-cigarettes release formaldehyde when heated with batteries set at high voltages. The aerosol or vapor, which users inhale, can contain nicotine, ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs, chemicals linked to lung disease, volatile organic compounds, cancer-causing chemicals, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead.

Exposure to e-cigarette aerosol can lead to more bacteria in the mouth, which is associated with tooth decay, cavities, and gum diseases. It can also cause dry mouth, inflamed gums, and other issues. The flavoring capsules in e-cigarettes can lead to cavities and increase the risk of developing chronic lung diseases.

There are serious broader dangers surrounding vaping, particularly among adolescents.

Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which we know is addictive. Nicotine has very serious effects, especially on the teen brain. It can harm brain development, which occurs into your mid-20s. It affects parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control. Nicotine causes that “pleasure center” activation and the feeling becomes highly addictive – more so than alcohol and cannabis, and similar to cocaine. Vaping in particular causes faster absorption of nicotine and thus gives users that “high” quicker than cigarettes, leading to even greater addiction.

It’s important for families discuss these important issues, especially with teens.

While there is no singular, proven way to assist adolescents who want to quit vaping, we have to work together and be proactive now, or this will continue to get worse. Creating an opportunity for an open conversation about the effects of vaping and e-cigarettes is the first step to reversing the epidemic. And there are many resources available that can help start that conversation.