While nobody enjoys getting lectured about a bad habit, it’s important to have all the relevant information available to you, especially when it involves health implication. So if you need any extra motivation to help you quit smoking, we’ll discuss some of the lesser-known problems it can cause.
It isn’t just your lungs that suffer! Of course, anyone can understand the relationship between smoking and lung cancer, but there are serious oral health implications too. Gum disease significantly increases with smoking, as nicotine seems to discourage the growth and regeneration of these tissues. Once gums disease sets tooth loss isn’t far behind.
Not to mention oral cancer… smokers are 10% more likely to develop the disease.
Additional Hazards of Smoking
- Fire – The leading cause of burn deaths in the US are fires started by lit cigarettes.
- Low birth weight babies – A report issued by the Centers for Disease Control concluded that if all women quit smoking during pregnancy, about 4,000 new babies would not die every year.
- Wrinkled faces – Smoking causes tiny facial blood vessels to constrict. This restricts blood flow and contributes to premature wrinkling that’s often irreversible. Help is abundant—get it and quit!
- Fractured bones – Study after study links a history of smoking with osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease that affects primarily elderly women.
Dr. Angela Burns moved to Austin 10 years ago and instantly fell in love with our beautiful city. Dr. Burns is originally from the Texarkana area. She attended Texas A&M for her undergraduate degree and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center for her degree in dental surgery (DDS). Dr. Burns is committed to providing her patients with gentle, technologically advanced dental treatment. She attends an average of 60 hours of continuing education every year. She is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the Texas Dental Association, and the Capital Area Dental Society. Dr. Burns and her husband, Gary, have an 11-year-old daughter, Sydney, who is a proud 6th grader at Hill Country Middle School. She is also very involved in the Eanes PTO, her church, and loves raising her family in the Westlake community. “Growing up, I was drawn to mediating and helping others feel more included and less anxious. I was a camp counselor, student government officer and being the oldest of five, I was the family mediator. I found that I had a calling to help alleviate stressful situations for others and realized that being a good listener was something that was key to this. These skills really helped guide me into becoming a dentist that has based my practice on relationships, empathy and a sense of comfort. I knew that I wanted to provide an atmosphere that felt like home when others walked in. Our practice is small, personal and state of the art and we hope you feel like you’re hanging out with friends when you are here!” When she is not practicing dentistry, Dr. Burns enjoys traveling, hiking the greenbelt, enjoying Austin’s music scene, and eating Amy’s Ice Cream.
