Smoking and tobacco products usage is quite harmful to the mouth. We can list these damages as follows:

• Tar residue or dark-brown stains accumulates over the teeth.

• Red colored inflammation is observed in the palate

• Tendency to gum disease

• Bad mouth odor

• Black hairy tongue image

• Tissue disorders in the mouth (oral lesions)

• Gingival extraction

• Oral cancers

One of the biggest damages of tobacco is oral cancer. In general, 75% of oral cancers are found to be smoking and alcohol habits. If a person stops smoking, the risk of oral cancer is immediately and significantly reduced. The risk of oral cancer after 10 years of cessation is equivalent to that of a non-smoker.

Detection of oral cancer

• Painless, unusual swelling in the mouth and neck, lump and swelling

• Red and white areas in the mouth

• Repeated bleeds from mouth or throat

• Chewing – swallowing difficulty

HIGH RISK GROUPS

• Smoking and tobacco usage

• Excessive alcohol consumption

• Continuous exposure to sunlight

• Lip biting, cheek chewing habit

• Badly made dentures

Some early signs:

• Pain that does not heal in the face, neck and mouth within 2 weeks, lethargic areas

• Swelling, lumps or bubbles in the lips, gums or other areas of the mouth

• Formation of white, red or dark areas

• Repeated bleeds in the mouth

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