Smoking and Dental Pulp

Dental pulp is highly sensitive and it’s no fun when it gets inflamed. An infection inside the tooth will not only be painful, it will also cause bad breath and can develop into a facial abscess. We provide root canal therapy at Bernstein Dental Care in Bay Ridge to combat pulp infections, but new research indicates that patients who smoke may be at risk for worse, recurring inflammation.


Pulpitis (the medical term for pulp inflammation) occurs when a tooth gets injured or infected. It is a way for the immune system to restrict the flow of blood-borne pathogens, concentrate white blood cells, and make cellular walls more permeable to antimicrobial peptides. These molecules are among the immune system’s more important weapons. Antimicrobial peptides grab onto invading bacteria and kill them. But scientists say that in smokers’ dental pulp, antimicrobial peptides seem to be absent.


During a root canal procedure, infected dental pulp is removed and replaced with a sealer. But if any bacteria escape removal, a smoker’s immune system will have a harder time preventing them from spreading. Getting treatment is still vital, but the new research provides one more reason for people to avoid smoking. There were also a few cases in which people who quit smoking developed new antimicrobial peptides.


Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91st St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn, New York, 11209. To schedule an appointment, visit Bernstein Dental Care or call 718-833-9191.


 

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