Smokers are twice as likely to develop gum disease and have a higher chance of experiencing dental implant failures, Taiwanese doctors and health officials said in a warning to tobacco users.
Tobacco is only legal consumer product that kills half of its users, Taiwan Dental Association chairman Chiang Hsi-jen (江錫仁) said, citing WHO data.
People should not smoke and those who do should quit as soon as possible, he said earlier this month.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
Nicotine use causes blood vessels to narrow or become clogged, reducing blood flow to levels that affect the body’s immune mechanisms and increase the risk of gum disease, he said.
Smokers tend to have black gums from a buildup of melanin, and their teeth tend to get stained and have a coarse texture, Chiang said.
Dental health problems associated with nicotine use include black gums, cavities and gum recession, and as a result, smokers are twice as likely to develop gum disease, he said.
Smoking also impairs gum tissue regeneration, resulting in a higher chance of dental implant failures, Chiang said, adding that good teeth or good dentures key to a good quality of life.
Tobacco users heal from gum injuries significantly slower than nonsmokers, association secretary-general Kuo Wen-chieh (郭文傑) said.
Inflammation and infection — the main causes of implant failure — are far more common in smokers than nonsmokers, he said, adding that tar and nicotine residue is harmful to the gums and hard to remove.
Dentists are taught to ask people if they smoke or use a tobacco product other than cigarettes if they detect sores, abscesses, hard spots, swelling or other warning signs of oral cancer in their mouths, he said.
Electronic cigarettes containing nicotine and other types of toxic substances linked to cancer are no less harmful than cigarettes, Kuo said, adding that their often uncertain origin worsens the danger.
Lo Su-ying (羅素英), director of the Health Promotion Administration’s Tobacco Control Division, said that 2,701 of the nation’s hospitals and pharmacies offer services to help people quit smoking.
Smokers are sure to be able to find a clinic, pharmacy or itinerant care provider to help them, and the cost of the drugs is partially subsidized, she said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
RSS