Smokers neglect oral health
Compared to people that have kicked the habit, current smokers are twice as likely to develop these problems, and four times more likely than people who have never smoked, said the CDC report published in the NCHS Data Brief.
Investigators also found that current smokers are 1.5 times as likely as former smokers, and more than twice as likely as people who have never smoked to have three or more oral health problems.
In the study, smokers acknowledged the importance of oral health, but were less likely than former or never smokers to visit the dentist when they had dental problems. What’s more is that smokers were about twice as likely not to have visited the dentist in five years.
The main reason smokers gave researchers for avoiding the dentist, was that they couldn’t afford dental care.
The CDC report highlighted the long-known link between tobacco use and oral disease. In addition, oral health problems could be a red flag for the development of serious conditions such as diabetes, HIV, heart disease or stroke, the authors noted.
Source: HealthDay News
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