Is Vaping Bad for Your Teeth?
We all want to keep our teeth in great shape. Afterall, you only get one set of gnashers in adulthood, so keeping them well looked-after is essential if you’d prefer to avoid expensive and potentially painful trips to the dentist! This probably explains why so many vapers find themselves wondering “is vaping bad for your teeth”.
We’re all aware of the damage smoking can do to our oral health, but does vaping also pose a risk to our pearly whites? To find out, let’s take a look at the impact vaping has on our mouths and see whether vapes can indeed damage your teeth.
Does Vaping Cause Cavities?
First let’s start with the most common of dental complaints and the one which affects around 80% of adults by their mid-30s: cavities.
A cavity is an area of a tooth which begins to decay, eventually developing into a hole or opening. The main cause of cavities is poor dental hygiene such as not brushing frequently enough, consuming too many sugary drinks/food and allowing bacteria and plaque to build up in the mouth.
Due to the sweet nature of e-liquid, many people believe vaping could cause cavities. Indeed, some e-liquids do contain sugar and constantly filling your mouth with sugar-rich vapour certainly won’t do your teeth any favours, so if you’re concerned about tooth decay then these vape juices are probably best avoided.
Thankfully not all vape juices contain sugar and you’ll be glad to know that all of our e-liquids are sugar-free. Instead, the sweetness of our products comes from artificial sweeteners – mainly sucralose – and thankfully these are considered non-cariogenic, which means they don’t contribute towards tooth decay.
Another thing to watch out for is colourings in your e-liquid which could also contribute to tooth decay. Again, you won’t find this in any of Vapoholic’s e-liquids.
If you’re worried about cavities, just make sure your e-liquid doesn’t contain sugar and avoid those nuclear-looking, brightly-coloured vape juices and your teeth should stay cavity-free!
Does Vaping Stain Your Teeth?
Another concern you might have is the potential for your vape to stain your teeth. These worries are understandable as, although superficial, stained teeth can completely ruin your smile.
Only one study examining whether vaping stains the teeth has been carried out, but the results were promising to say the least.
In the study, scientists at the British American Tobacco (BAT) looked at teeth exposed to e-cigarette vapour over a 2-week period, comparing them to those exposed to tobacco smoke for the same period of time. The study concluded that vaping had no visible effect on teeth in terms of discolouration.
While the research is certainly promising, it’s worth noting that the 2-week timeframe is quite limited, and we’d probably benefit more from a study conducted over a longer period of time. Hopefully more research is carried out soon which should eliminate any remaining doubt.
It’s also worth pointing out that the e-liquid used in the study was colourless – vape juices with bright-coloured dye could be a completely different story so stay away from these if you’re concerned about your teeth becoming stained.
Is Vaping Bad for Your Gums?
Now that we’ve covered whether vaping stains your teeth and causes cavities, let’s answer another commonly-asked question: is vaping bad for your gums?
Smoking is a known menace to gum health which can cause a range of issues including swollen, sore and/or bleeding gums and even tooth loss. But does vaping also cause damage to our gums? In short, yes, vaping does have the potential to cause some issues with your gums.
The reason for this is that many of the negative effects smoking has on your gums isn’t actually caused by the smoke, but rather the nicotine. Nicotine dries out our mouth and when we vape we’re exposing our gums to hot vapour which also removes moisture and can put you at higher risk of gum disease.
The good news is while vaping is hardly great for your gums, it’s nowhere near as bad as smoking. So if you’re vaping as a means to quit smoking, try to look at it from a harm reduction point of view.
Does Vaping Cause Mouth Cancer?
While we’re on the subject of oral hygiene, we thought it was worth covering this topic just to put a few minds at ease.
When it comes to mouth cancer, those who smoke are a whopping 10 times more likely to develop the disease compared to those who don’t, while two-thirds of mouth cancers are linked to smoking. Considering this, it’s natural for those transitioning from smoking to vaping to wonder if e-cigarettes also pose a risk.
If you’re one of those who’s a little unsure, we’re glad to tell you there’s no risk of developing mouth cancer from vaping. The vast majority of smoking-related cancers are caused by carbon monoxide and tar, and neither of these are present when we vape so hopefully that’ll put any worries to bed.
So is vaping bad for your teeth? The short answer is no, not if you vape the right type of e-liquids. With that said, some vape juices could cause damage to your teeth so if you want to avoid cavities and staining then you should steer clear of e-liquids which contain sugar and/or colourings.
It’s also worth taking into account why you’re vaping. If you’re a non-smoker and you picked up vaping as a hobby then the slight risk of damaging your teeth might not be worth it. On the other hand, if you’re using your vape as an alternative to smoking then the risk of stains or damage is massively reduced.
Hopefully you now have the answers to the questions “is vaping bad for your teeth?” and “does vaping stain your teeth?”. As we’ve already learned, if you’re keen to avoid staining and cavities then always opt for a sugar-free e-liquid with no colourings. All of our e-liquids meet this criteria, so for vape juices that are kind to your teeth browse our extensive range of e-liquid now!