SpaDental is supporting Stoptober, encouraging smokers to quit during October.
Cigarettes cause damage to your health, and others by secondary smoke. It is said that every cigarette you smoke takes 11 minutes from your life – that’s over 3.5 hours for a pack.
Many smokers are aware of the health risks but don’t realise the damage smoking also does to their mouth, gums and teeth. Teeth staining, gum disease and tooth loss are all caused by smoking as well as smoking being linked to mouth, throat and lung cancer.
If you smoke you are more likely to produce bacterial plaque which leads to gum disease. Smoking also weakens your immune system. This makes it harder to fight off a gum infection. Once you have gum damage, smoking also makes it harder for your gums to heal. Gum disease is still the most common cause of tooth loss in adults.
The good news however is that over 1 million people have tried to quit due to the Stoptober campaign and there are plenty of ways for you to get support if you want to be one of them.
A free app, daily email support and instant practical support via their Facebook Messenger bot are all available via Stoptober along with lots of information on stop smoking medicines, services and ways to get on-going support.
Go to www.nhs.uk/oneyou/stoptober or search Stoptober
Your local SpaDental practice can also provide you with advice and guidance on how to access these services and how to best protect your teeth and improve your oral health.
Stoptober – if you stop for 28 days you are five times more likely to quit for good!