Vaping can have a very harmful effect on this part of the mouth, a study finds

Smoking has never been linked to positive oral health, but a new study examining the relationship between vaping, cigarettes and oral health found the habit may contribute to gum disease.

The study, published in the journal mBio and conducted by New York University researchers, found that people who vape have a unique oral microbiome that differs from non-smokers and traditional cigarette smokers.

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Photo by Toan Nguyen via Unsplash

The study was conducted on a group of 87 people who smoked, vaped or smoked regular cigarettes. Participants went to the lab to have their mouth analyzed twice, with their sessions taking place six months apart. Researchers took saliva samples and looked at the possibility of gum disease.

The researchers found that most people showed symptoms of gum disease, as everyone does after the age of 30, but that people who vaped showed signs of “clinical loss of attachment.” This is a symptom of gum disease, where there is a separation between the gum and the tooth, creating pockets where bacteria can hide and multiply. In terms of the microbiome, vapers had a similar environment to smokers, but also had bacteria like TNFα, which are known to cause inflammation and have been linked to diseases like Alzheimer’s, depression, and more.

Deepak Saxena, one of the lead investigators, spoke to Interesting Engineering and discussed the results. “Our thought was that the microbiome [of e-cigarette users] will be similar [either] for the users of combustible cigarettes or for the non-smokers,” he said. This was not the case. The study shows that vaping creates a unique environment for bacteria that could affect people’s health in ways yet unknown.

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While vaping and smoking are harmful to health, the problem with vaping is that it is an activity mostly reserved for young people. Vaping has been marketed as a healthier alternative to cigarettes, touting the fact that it is vapor and not smoke. But the truth is, these devices haven’t been around that long, and there’s no way to know their long-term effects.