Do E-Cigs Do The Same Damage As Cigarettes?
Smoking cigarettes is not only harmful to your overall health, it is harmful to your oral health, as well. After all, you suck the smoke in between your teeth. Your teeth and oral tissues are at the front line. How can they not be affected? Food and beverages affect the health of your teeth and gums and so does anything else that enters your oral cavity. However, many people have switched over to e-cigarettes for the health benefits. If you are one of those people, you may be wondering if e-cigs do the same damage to your teeth and gums as cigarettes?
The First Study Conducted
The University of Rochester Medical Center was the first to study the effects of e-cigarettes on oral health by exposing 3-D human, non-smoker gum tissue to e-cigarette vapors. The study was performed to determine if e-cigarettes are healthier for your oral cavity than traditional cigarettes. What the researches learned was that when the vapors from an e-cigarette come into contact with healthy oral tissue, inflammatory proteins are released causing stress within the tissue cells, resulting in damage that could lead to oral disease.
That's not all!
But that's not all. The study also indicated that the flavorings added for taste and smell, increases the cellular damage. Some flavorings do more damage than others. In addition, e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is already known to contribute to gum disease. According to the results of the study, e-cigarettes are equally as damaging to the teeth and gums as are conventional cigarettes.