Do you have a toothache? At Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, we’ve removed a lot of dental pulp infections, allowing patients to feel better and retain the use of their natural teeth. But new research has shown that smokers have an especially difficult time with dental pulp infections, and we want our patients to understand this peril and how closely connected dental health is to the overall immune system.
We refer to pulp inflammation as “pulpitis.” This is an immune response, and while it can be triggered by an injury, it is usually due to an infection. Anytime the dental pulp is exposed there is a high risk of infection, but pulpitis can also occur if decay of the enamel becomes severe enough for the acid produced by bacteria to irritate the inner portion of the tooth. Pulp infections are not only painful, they are dangerous. If left untreated, they can lead to blood poisoning and facial abscesses.
Smokers have compromised immune systems and suffer from high rates of oral infections. One of the immune system’s key components is antimicrobial peptides, which latch onto invading bacteria and kill them. But scientists recently found that in smokers, the antimicrobial peptides of the pulp are missing. This increases the risk that if a root canal does not completely eliminate infected material, the infection could return. It is still vital for a patient with an infection to get a root canal, but we want to emphasize to our patients the importance of not smoking and to share with them evidence that peptides may return after a smoker quits.
Dr. Na Xu operates Healthy Smiles Family Dental at 2601 25th St SE #400, Salem, Oregon, 97302. Visit My Family Dentist Salem or call 503-385-1185.
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