Vaping: Is it bad for your teeth?

Vaping – or using e-cigarettes – is often promoted as a safer alternative to tobacco smoking. This goes some way towards understanding the significant uptake in vaping’s popularity in recent years. However, concerns around vaping and its impact on oral health are plentiful. This partly comes down to the fact that there are just so many vaping products and ingredients available today, and medical professionals are finding it hard to understand and predict their long-term effects.

Recent government statistics have claimed that the number of people vaping more than doubled between 2021 and 2022, with the percentage leaping up from 4% to 8.6%. This is despite developing medical claims and concerns surrounding the impact on overall and oral health.

Vaping is the action of inhaling nicotine via a flavoured water vapor. Vape liquids often vary when it comes to nicotine strength, and many contain no nicotine at all. However, up and down the country, those who are vaping are increasingly beginning to ask: is vaping bad for your teeth?

There’s no shortage of conflicting information out there when it comes to the potential negative impact of vaping on oral health. It’s time to take a closer look at how e-cigarette usage might be harming your teeth and consider the latest research on the matter.

Will vaping stain my teeth?

The way traditional tobacco smoking, through cigarettes, cigars, and pipes affects the health and appearance of teeth is well understood. The high levels of tar present in tobacco can quickly discolour teeth, making a noticeable impact on your smile.

Vaping may remove the presence of tar from the equation. However, the sticky aerosol and artificial flavourings in vape liquids can also worsen the appearance of your smile, as they can cause stains to be trapped in the enamel. It’s important to note that the staining of both tooth enamel and tooth-coloured fillings can be caused even by vape liquids with no nicotine.

How does vaping affect my oral health?

Just like the rest of our body, our teeth and gums thrive on a delicately-balanced system – one which can be unbalanced by the introduction of harmful chemicals. While it’s true that e-cigarettes contain fewer and smaller quantities of harmful chemicals than tobacco, they still include plenty of ingredients recognized as damaging to both oral and general wellbeing.

When you vape, it’s not just the addictive nicotine that’s entering your body. There is also vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol and many other chemical additives being transmitted, and these can cause a build-up of sticky substances that alter the bacterial makeup of the mouth. This may in turn lead to:
• Excess oral bacteria, resulting in gum disease, gum recession and tooth decay.
• Inhibited bloodflow to the gums caused by nicotine, which may lead to poor gum healing, failed gum treatments and affected dental implants.
• Dry mouth leading to bad breath, oral sores and tooth decay.
• A potential increase in teeth grinding or bruxism.

While medical professionals generally agree that vaping is safer than tobacco smoking, there is also concern that – rather than vaping as a ‘stop smoking’ method – many never-smokers are opting to vape as a lifestyle choice. This may lead to wider health implications than merely the oral health issues listed above.

Will my dentist be able to tell if I vape?

As shown, the effects on the teeth, gums and mouth caused by vaping are detectable. Your dentist will be able to spot the impact that vaping has on your oral health during your check-up, especially if you’ve been vaping for an extended period. Please don’t hide the fact that you’re vaping when you next visit your Smiles dentist; it’s important that your dentist or hygienist can advise on your oral care based on all the relevant information. If you feel you need support on quitting vaping or smoking, there is plenty of assistance available via your local health service provider.

Smoking or vaping: which causes most harm to my oral health?

Make no mistake: both vaping and smoking can cause oral health problems, even though vaping is generally considered to be the safer of these two habits. From an increased build-up of plaque to tooth discolouration, inhibited saliva production, heightened risk of gum disease, tooth loss, cavities and more, vaping can cause all kinds of issues because of changes to the bacterial biome of the mouth.

There’s a further factor to bear in mind: the impact of vaping on oral health is still an area of developing and ongoing research, and the effects are yet to be fully understood. Indeed, key insights to the damage that vaping can do to your mouth, teeth and gums are yet to be revealed.

Quite simply, vaping hasn’t been around for nearly long enough for scientists to fully assess all the associated risks. That being said, the risks that have already been revealed are worrying enough to discourage those who want to maintain good oral health, and the medical advice to quit should be heeded carefully.

How do I reduce the impact of vaping on my oral health?

There are plenty of things you can do to reduce the impact that vaping has on your oral health. These include:
• Quitting altogether
• Considering alternatives like xylitol mints and sugar-free gum as ways of handling addiction
• Staying hydrated, as vaping can cause dehydration which impacts the natural defences of the mouth. Drinking plenty of water will help counter any damage caused this way.
• Visit your Smiles hygienist and dentist regularly, as dental professionals will be able to spot oral health concerns and early warning signs and assist in helping with any issues.
• Maintain your good oral health routine by brushing and flossing twice per day.

Worried about how vaping is impacting your oral health? Contact your nearest Smiles clinic today and get the advice you need to make a difference.

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