European researchers find more smoking pitfalls
Costly dental work could all be undone by smoking, according to research carried out by European researchers. Their conclusions show that there is a strong link between smoking and tooth decay, that dental work such as fillings can be prevented from being efficient and that it can cause mouth diseases and infections. The European working group on tobacco and oral health found that stopping smoking either shortly before or up to eight weeks after dental work has been carried out can significantly improve the chances of the work's efficiency. It is not just the dental work, but also related treatments such as creams and antibiotics which have reduced efficiency in oral work. The report strongly recommends that dentists warn their patients of these dangers. While it is commonly accepted that smoking can cause oral cancer and teeth loss, people are less aware of these other risks. Meanwhile, UK government researchers have found that some water sprays used by dentists have such high levels of opportunistic pathogens that they could potentially kill vulnerable patients. Species of mycobacterium and legionella were found in the sprays, which could cause pneumonia, potentially fatal in the cases of cancer or HIV dental patients. Researchers found that the level of opportunistic pathogens the EU drinking water safety limit in 52 out of 55 dental surgeries tested in the south west of England, some by up to 1,200 times the limit. Some 10% of the sample contained oral streptococci. This helped researchers identify that the bacteria had been sucked back into the tools, as this bacteria is only found in the mouth.