Dental News - US smokers have fewer dental check-ups

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 8 February 2012

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ATLANTA, Ga., USA: Smokers in the USA seem to be seriously neglecting their oral health. According to the results of a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta in 2008, one out of five had never seen a dentist or avoided having his or her teeth checked for at least five years.

In comparison, only one out of ten nonsmokers had never visited a dentist.

The main reason for the high number of avoiders among the smoking group was found to be affordability of dental treatment, which confirms the results of an earlier CDC survey, indicating that people with lower income are more likely to smoke than people with higher income. Many survey respondents stated that they also avoided the dentist because they considered their smoking of little or no importance to their overall oral health status.

In addition, people who smoke stated that they suffered from more dental problems, including bad breath, dry mouth, and difficulties in eating or chewing.

According to research, tobacco is considered an important risk factor for a number of oral diseases like periodontal disease and oral cancer.

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