The Verdict Is In on E-Cigarettes Risks and The News Isn’t Good
Regardless of media hype to the contrary that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to smoking, research has proven that theory wrong. Latest research on the subject suggests that vaping could actually be just as bad as smoking for oral health. Scientists say inhaling e-cigarettes can lead to gum disease and mouth cancer.
Consumers Risk A Lot on the Unknown
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that vaping tobacco has become extremely popular among younger people. When a person can tell themselves “it’s okay, at least I’m not smoking” that’s a difficult mindset to argue with. Vaping is still fairly new, and there simply isn’t enough hard data for people to pay attention to — until now.
As a leading dentists in Pasadena CA, I see an increasing number of patients with gum disease who use e-cigarettes. Maybe there is no connection between the two, but I highly doubt it’s coincidental. Why? Because more and more evidences suggests that e-cigarettes are as harmful as tobacco.
What E-Cigarette Users Can Expect To Happen Inside Their Mouths
A recent group study had some interesting, frightening results on flavored vapor. Gum tissue was exposed to either regular tobacco flavor or menthol-flavored “e-juice.” Although the tobacco flavor contained 16mg of nicotine, and the flavored between 13-16, those people who were exposed to the menthol flavor showed more damage. In this study group, all participants showed damage resembling smoking whether using regular or flavored vapor.
If the goal in vaping is to avoid the effects of smoking, it has failed. The only real difference between e-cigarettes and smoking is in the degree of damage it can cause. The aforementioned study clearly shows that when nicotine laced vapor is inhaled, it releases inflammatory proteins which stresses cells and leads to the “possibility” of a host of other oral health issues.
Bottom Line – Vaporizing Will Damage and Kill Cells
It doesn’t take long for vapor from an e-cigarette to kill mouth cells. To prove this, a separate team of scientists placed epithelial cells in a chamber with fluid similar to saliva. Within 3 -days, exposure to the same vapor a human would inhale had caused significant damage and death to the mouth cells.
Are e-cigarettes harmful as tobacco? Definitely yes. On the first day of this experiment, cell death was at 18%, second day 40%, and by the third day it was 53%!
We hope that publishing these kinds of statistics will help change the upward trend of vaping. Only time will tell! Until then, I encourage everyone — even if you don’t smoke or vape — to get routine dental checkups every 6 months to protect your teeth and mouth from bacteria and disease.