New Warning Labels:
http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/default.htm
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WATER PIPE SMOKING POSES
PERIODONTAL DISEASE RISK
The impact of water pipe smoking is largely the same
as that of cigarette smoking, said researchers in the November issue
of theJournal of Periodontology. Clinical examinations of 262 subjects,
aged 17 to 60 years, at King Faisal Specialty Hospital and Research
Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The examinations included assessments of
oral hygiene, gingival inflammation and probing depth. Subjects reported
their smoking behaviors through a questionnaire, and this information
was confirmed by an interview. Researchers stratified subjects into
water pipe smokers, cigarette smokers, mixed smokers and nonsmokers.
They found that incidence of periodontal diseases was 30 percent
inwater pipe smokers, 24 percent in cigarette smokers and 8 percent
innonsmokers.Research from this study shows that the relative risk for
periodontal disease increased by 5.0-fold in water pipe smokers and
3.8-fold in cigarette smokers compared to nonsmokers, Even though
the smoke is filtered out by water, inhalation of toxic substances is
similar to or even greater than that of cigarette smoking. Tobacco
used for water pipe smoking contains 2 to 4 percent nicotineversus 1 to
3 percent for cigarettes. Researchers found increased levels of
nicotine and cotinine in water pipe smokers' plasma, saliva and urine,
supporting their finding that water pipe smoking affects the
periodontal tissues in the same way as cigarette smoking does.
J Am Dent Assoc, Vol 137, No 1, 24-25.
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Stop Smoking Facts
Boxing and Oral
Health — Perhaps not Mutually Exclusive?
News Releases CDA June 13, 2005 Your dentist will certainly never
recommend it, but according to a study published in the latest edition
of the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association (JCDA), participation
in sports — even contact sports including boxing and wrestling — may
have protective health effects.
The article, entitled "Tobacco Use among Young North American Aboriginal
Athletes", found that youths at high-risk for smoking, are less
likely to use tobacco when they are involved in organized sports.
Among Aboriginal youth, average reported
smoking rates vary from 30-
77%, (higher than the non-Aboriginal Canadian youth average of 21.7%),
putting them at increased risk for negative health effects — including
oral diseases. Through a mouthguard clinic established at the July 2002
North American Indigenous Games, a group of dentalresearchers was able to learn that participation in sports impacts other
health choices.
We found that athletes presenting at the clinic were much less likely to
use tobacco products than their peers — and even averaged below the
rates of non-aboriginal youths who are less at risk. These
findings suggest that participation in organized sportsmay be an
important protective factor against tobacco use.
Of 156 Aboriginal athletes participating in the study, only 22 (14.1%)
reported current smoking. And of the few who did smoke, consumption
levels were low and most were interested in quitting.
The full text of the above mentioned article is available from the eJCDA
Web site:
Tobacco Use among Young North American Aboriginal Athletes[
http://www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-71/issue-6/403.html
]
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Loss of Teeth
and Coronary Heart Disease
This study found there was a significant hazard ratio for total
mortality, but only for edentulousness. When examined by stepwise
regression of the coronary heart disease risk factors,all significance
of risk from the three oral parameters was lost, smoking having the
largest effect of all risk factors.
Number of remaining teeth, edentulousness, and number of years of
edentulism were not independent risk factors for total or coronary heart
disease mortality, but they were surrogate markers for the risk from
smoking.
[Ragnarsson E, Eliasson ST, / Gudnason V Loss of Teeth and Coronary
Heart Disease International Journal of Prosthodontics 2004;17(4):
441-446.]
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Smokers
Today's Tip: Smoking
Did you know that smoking affects all parts of the digestive
system,and contributes to ulcers and heartburn? According to the
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, smoking can also
affect the makeup of stomach acid, making it more harmful.
And - with reflux - that could harm the teeth!
hearts@work Tip of the Week courtesy of your
Healthy Heart Society ofBritish Columbia
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Smokers have a higher requirement for vitamin C
than nonsmokers. Vitamin C concentrations in smokers are inversely
related to cigarette consumption. This is most likely due to increased
demand as a result of increased oxidative stress. The current
RDA for smokers is 110 mg/day for women and 125 mg/day for men,
although it has been proposed smokers require 120 to 180 mg/day to
maintain plasma vitamin C concentrations comparable to nonsmokers.
The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice Vol.
5, No. 2, Page 1-13 6/04
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Cigarette smoke undermines protective properties of
saliva
Once exposed to cigarette smoke, our normally
healthy saliva not only loses its beneficial qualities but it turns
traitor and actually aids in destroying the cells of the mouth and oral
cavity. Cigarette smoke is not only damaging on its own, it can
turn the body against itself. Cigarette smoke can destroy the
antioxidants found in saliva, leaving behind a mixture of
compounds that can accelerate the development of oropharyngeal cancer
[www.ada.org News Today June 2004]
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Cigarette Smoking and the
Periodontal Patient
Adult smokers are
approximately three times as likely as non-smokers to have
periodontitis. The association between smoking and
attachment loss is even stronger when the definition of
periodontitis is restricted to the most severely affected
subjects. Smokers have a diminished response to periodontal
therapy and show approximately half as much improvement in
probing depths and clinical attachment levels following non-
surgical and various surgical modalities of therapy. Implant
failures in smokers are twice those of non-smokers, with a
higher failure rate in the maxillary arch .
Tobacco-induced alterations in microbial and host factors
contribute to these deleterious effects of smoking on the
periodontium. In longitudinal studies, the rate of periodontal
disease progression is increased in smokers, but decreases to
that of a non-smoker following tobacco cessation. Likewise, recent
non- smokers respond to periodontal therapy in a manner
similar to patients who have never smoked. Use the
five A's: ask – identify tobacco users; advise – advise
them to quit; assess – evaluate the patient's readiness to
quit; assist – offer assistance in cessation; and arrange
– follow up on cessation efforts. The addition of
pharmacotherapy to behavioral therapy, including nicotine
replacement therapy and bupropion, can increase cessation
rates. The most popular form of nicotine replacement therapy
is the patch, and its use has been shown to double
cessation rates compared to behavioral therapy alone. Use
of bupropion in combination with nicotine replacement therapy
may be particularly helpful for heavy smokers or smokers who
have experienced multiple failed attempts at cessation.
[J Periodontol 2004;75:196-209.]Georgia K. Johnson and
Margaret Hill [J Periodontology Feb 2004]
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New
Websites
Tobacco
Control Resource Center-Tobacco FactFile presents reliable
information on the true consequences of tobacco use
Tobacco Quitline Information
Call
1-866-632-7848 for information, support and follow-up calls as
often as you need, anytime, day or night. Certified counselors
will develop a personalized "Quit Plan" to help you by setting
specific goals and target dates for quitting and strategies for starving
off cravings. Follow up calls are offered on a regular schedule to
provide ongoing support, advice and encouragement. There is no
limit to the number of follow up sessions or calls for support.
All information is confidential.
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Study shows smokers should quit before dental
procedures
Smokers may want to quit using tobacco before
undergoing oral surgery in order to encourage a prompt recovery.
Researchers investigated the relationship between tobacco smoking and
the inflammatory response in smokers who consumed 10 to 20 cigarettes a
day. The researchers found that the body's defense
mechanism was weakened in smokers, while the defense mechanism in
nonsmokers promoted a more favorable healing response. Smoking interferes
with the treatment response, noting that the findings also might
explain the clinical evidence of inferior treatment outcomes in
smokers. October 2003 issue of the Journal
of Periodontology.
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Reducing tobacco use doesn't compare
to quitting in risk reduction:
Heavy
smokers hoping to stave off respiratory illness or death by cutting down
on the number of cigarettes they smoke may want to rethink their choice
and quit altogether, according to new study findings from Denmark. Significantly
reducing the number of cigarettes smoked did not appear to have any
long-term benefit in terms of death risk compared to not cutting down at
all, according to the report published in the December issue of the
American Journal of Epidemiology. In the current study, Dr. Nina S.
Godtfredsen of Copenhagen University Hospital and colleagues assessed
the cause of death for nearly 20,000 people over a 15-year period. The
investigators compared heavy smokers (15 or more cigarettes a day) who
reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked by at least half during the
study but didn't quit, with smokers who did quit, as well as people who
continued to be heavy smokers. The researchers also looked at consistent
light smokers, who smoked 14 cigarettes or less daily. Heavy smokers who
cut their cigarette intake by half saw no reduction in deaths from any
cause during the study period. Quitters, on the other hand, had a 35
percent lower risk of death from all causes than those who continued
to smoke heavily, while light smokers' death risk was 25 percent lower.
And quitters cut their risk of death from tobacco-related cancer by
64 percent, while there was no significant difference in mortality
from such cancers for those who reduced their tobacco intake. The
researchers also found no difference in respiratory disease or mortality
from cardiovascular disease between people who reduced their smoking and
those who continued to smoke heavily. The authors note that the study is
the first, to their knowledge, to investigate from a prospective point
of view the question of whether reducing cigarette smoking can cut
mortality risk. SOURCE: American Journal Epidemiology
2002;156:994-1001.
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Additive-free cigarettes no safer for
smokers:
Additive-free
cigarettes such as the "American Spirit" brand are no safer
to smoke than conventional filtered cigarettes, researchers
from the University of Maryland have found. Noting that both the
American Spirit cigarettes and bidis contain carcinogenic compounds,
the investigators point out that such non-conventional cigarettes pose a
substantial health risk to smokers. And they emphasize that adolescents
appear to be particularly vulnerable to becoming dependant on such brands.
Sanders from the American Spirit company states "American Spirit
cigarettes are not marketed as a safer alternative to conventional
cigarettes but rather as a tastier option." We make no representation
— expressed or implied — that these cigarettes are any less
hazardous than any other cigarettes." A.D.A.
Dec. 2002
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USE A MOUTHRINSE TO HELP QUIT
SMOKING! USE A MOUTHRINSE TO HELP QUIT SMOKING!
Investigators at the State University
of New York at Buffalo undertook a study to determine the
effectiveness of a "smoking deterrent" mouthwash on
altering the taste in people's mouths after smoking. The mouthwash
causes a cigarette to become distasteful, while the taste of food
and drink is unaffected. The subjects evaluated had smoked more than
20 cigarettes a day for more than five years. The majority
of the subjects in the test group noticed a foul taste when they
smoked after using the mouthwash. Results showed that the test
mouthwash is safe to oral tissues and teeth, has some plaque-,
gingivitis-, and odor-reducing properties, and produces an
unpleasant taste in the mouth only when the user is smoking.
* * * * * This is a summary of an abstract entitled "Clinical
Evaluation of a Smoking Deterrent Mouthwash", by K.L. Kirkwood,
S.G. Ciancio, and M.L. Mather, of the State University of New York
at Buffalo, American Association for Dental Research
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The Role of Cigarette Smoking in
the Association Between Periodontal Disease and Coronary Heart
Disease
Cigarette smoking is a significant
risk factor for both coronary
heart disease and periodontal disease.
The goal of this study was to better understand the role of smoking
in the relationship between periodontal disease and heart attack
history. These results suggest that cigarette smoking is a
necessary cofactor in the relationship between periodontal disease
and coronary heart disease, and the increase in risk appears
to be age dependent.Jeffrey J. Hyman, Deborah M. Winn, and Britt
C. Reid
J Periodontol 2002;73(9):988-994.
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