Healthy gums

[Colin]

Hiya

I smoke 10 cigarettes a day and recently my hygienist told me that smoking could damage my gums in the long term. Thankfully at the moment I have healthy gums but I am worried that I could get gum damage due to my smoking habit.

I have tried hard to stop smoking and managed to halve what I used to smoke a few years ago but I find it hard to stop altogether mainly because of my stressful job. I am going to keep trying and plan to see a quit smoking councillor soon.

I would like to know what other things I could do in the meantime to keep my gums healthy and prevent gum disease developing. My mum lost all her teeth before she was 60 due to gum disease and I would like to avoid that scenario at all cost.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Well done in reducing your smoking, try your best to quit altogether. You will boost your gum health a great deal if you stopped smoking. Smoking is very much implicated in gum disease and stopping smoking really helps your gums as well as the rest of the body.

You should also clean in between your teeth daily with floss or Tepe brushes and try to practice excellent oral hygiene.

If possible, try to reduce the stress in your life (not easy, I know) and have a good balanced diet. Regular dentist and hygienist visits will also help to keep your gums in good shape.