Periodontal Effects

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Hi! Fairly new to vaping(3 months-ish,) but I've been caught up in the culture that exists as a part of it and, like many of you, I've become incredibly passionate about its positive impact on my life. Glad communities like this exist!

One of the reasons I made the decision to transition was my dental health, specifically my periodontal disease, which has cost me two teeth and severe gum recession for pretty much the entirety of mouth(pocket depth ranges from 3-7.) I'm on a prescribed oral rinse and use biotene to help combat the dry mouth that has cropped up since I started vaping. I haven't gone beyond two cleanings a year(insurance will only cover two,) but I'm probably going to get another root scaling in the near future.

While my oral hygienist seems very encouraging about the change from analogs to vaping, I can't help but be concerned with the increase in gum bleeding as well as overall dental soreness I've had since I switched. I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has had these issues while treating advanced periodontal infection and what they've found works for them. Obviously I'm fighting hard to save the teeth I have left and i don't want to give up vaping if it all possible. Any and all advice/stories would be greatly appreciated!
 

danny4x4

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You're lucky. My pockets range from 3 to 10. My first trip to the petiodontist, she was like going "wow, depth 10!" Their computer system only allowed a maximum of 9. :p

I'm no doctor or dentist, so this is only my layman's opinion. Vaping should not cause more periodontal problems as compared to smoking. You have to have deep cleaning (scaling under the gums). It's usually done in quadrants. So you're looking at 4 trips to the periodontist just to really clean out the pockets. After that, you might be given antibiotics and a follow up appointment to check on the pockets. Thereafter, you would need periodic visits to the periodontist to ensure that the condition does not worsen.

It's a hassle once you are diagnosed with periodontitis. Important thing is to ENSURE GOOD ORAL HYGIENE. For me, that means brushing and flossing after EVERY meal, AND not eating between meals. No sweet drinks for me after brushing.

Smoking masked the severity of my condition (that and not going to the dentist for 20 odd years). So when you quit smoking and started vaping, the symptoms would be more pronounced. At least that's my experience.

Hope this helps.
 

klynnn

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I had the same issues when I started vaping. It will get better as time goes on. I hate dentists and right after I started vaping I finally went for a cleaning, It took the gal a good hour and a half to get the stain off, after that I started seeing another hygenist. Just last month I went back to the first girl and she could not believe the difference. Vaping has made a huge difference for the better for me and the bleeding gums will subside. I hate to say it but the root scaling procedure has become a racket.
 

Wissel Joe

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I did notice when i was vaping 50/50 vg pg i was very dehydrated (i hate water but drank tons of it) really dry skin and i noticed my gums seemed to bleed when i brushed,
Now the past few weeks i only vape max vg skins not as dry havnt had a drink of water since switching, and my gums dont bleed when i brush, dont know maybe its just me.
 

LittleBird

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My dentist was one of the first folks to suggest I take up vaping as an alternative to smoking. I'm fanatical about water intake, for a whole host of reasons (and it helps that I like it), and do the whole water pik, electric toothbrush thing. I can say that my oral health has improved significantly since no analogs...
 
Appreciate all the response so far. It eases my mind a little.

Smoking masked the severity of my condition (that and not going to the dentist for 20 odd years). So when you quit smoking and started vaping, the symptoms would be more pronounced. At least that's my experience.

I'm curious on how smoking would downplay the severity of your periodontal symptoms.

I feel like I may be answering my own question, but would the mouth dryness that accompanies vaping make the gum bleeding worse?

Obviously these are probably all questions I just need to pass along to my dentist, lol.
 

Racehorse

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Vaping should not cause more periodontal problems as compared to smoking.

Actually, due to the hydroscopic nature of PG and VG, anyone with a tendency to dry mouth is going to have more problems unless they manage to really up their hydration.

I never had gum disease but now I do, and the periodontist said it's because my mouth is very dry. I do hydrate more now and use biotene gel at night.
 

danny4x4

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Racehorse:15394455 said:
Vaping should not cause more periodontal problems as compared to smoking.

Actually, due to the hydroscopic nature of PG and VG, anyone with a tendency to dry mouth is going to have more problems unless they manage to really up their hydration.

I never had gum disease but now I do, and the periodontist said it's because my mouth is very dry. I do hydrate more now and use biotene gel at night.

Well, I live and learn. I've never felt the hydroscopic nature of pg and vg because I am constantly drinking water. Minimum of 4.5 litres a day. I would take a drink every 10 to 15 minutes. Don't ask me how often I go to the toilet. :D
 

Racehorse

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Danny, that is a good habit to have!!!!!.......I keep well hydrated, because I have to.....but I struggle with it, as I inherited from my grandpa and mom this thing called "no thirst". I am rarely thirsty, so I have to put bottles of water all over the house, just about on every surface, so I remember when I am passing by to drink something. I was relating this to my doctor and she said she has the same problem. Her husband is always nagging her.
 

Maiar

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I was straight up with my dentist. I've gone to same one for over a decade now. She's impressed with how fast my receding gums are actually growing back. MY xrays even show healthier teeth inside and out. Only problem was some bleeding and a minor infection under the gumline which was treated with an ultrasonic cleaner. The bleeding I was told is very common in people who have quit smoking. The whole staff was pretty excited about vaping actually as I'm not the only patient they've seen have dramatic improvements after switching from smoking to vaping.
 

Bunnykiller

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Im assuming you were a smoker... being if that is correct, since you have probably reduced your smoking to a minimum, the body is trying to heal itsself and is sending extra blood to the gums to repair. Smoking reduces blood flow to the mouth gums ( thats why there is gum recession)... the bleeding part is all the new tissue growing and extra blood flow, probably some tenderness to go along with it too...
 

Completely Average

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There is the dehydration issue and it's effect on gum tissue, which you now know about.

Aside from that, vaping will help improve your oral health in time. I think the increased bleeding your having now is more related to quitting smoking rather than vaping. Bleeding gums is a common side-effect of quitting smoking, whether you're vaping or not. It's just part of the healing process your body will go through as it adjusts to not smoking and rids itself of the tar and other toxins in the smoke. In time it will get better, and your gum and tooth health will improve.
 
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