Vaping increases gum disease risk and tooth loss

Vaping may not be such a safe alternative to cigarettes after all.

E-cigarettes increase the risk of , and this can eventually cause teeth loss, say researchers at New York University.

They change the microbiome—the community of bacteria—in the mouth and makes gum disease more possible.  But they change it in unique ways that encourages the growth of certain types of bacteria.

The researchers assessed the gum health of 84 people, who either were smokers of cigarettes or e-cigarettes or were non-smokers.  The cigarette smokers had the most severe gum disease after six months, but the problem was still bad in vapers, and their gums were the weakest of all the groups, suggesting they were at greatest risk of tooth loss.

(Source: mBio, 2022; doi: 10.1128/mbio.00075-22)

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