Tobacco smoking remains the single most preventable cause of illness and death in Australia.

If you are a smoker, you may suffer from:

• Bad breath.
• Stained teeth/dentures/white fillings.
• Reduced taste.

Smoking also increases the risk of oral cancer and gum disease.

If your teeth or dentures are stained from smoking:

• Use a soft toothbrush and a pea-sized amount of adult fluoride toothpaste to clean your teeth.
• Clean dentures with mild soap and water.
• Avoid using smokers’ toothpaste and whitening products as they can be too abrasive.

It is important to know that smoking might cause problems after dental treatment, including:

• Poor healing after tooth extraction.
• Failure of dental implants and
• Slowed healing after gum disease treatment.

If you are a smoker and thinking about quitting, speak to SA Dental staff or call the Quitline on 13 78 48.