Smoking e-cigarettes causes gum disease and changes in e-smokers’ immune systems

Of course, no one ever said vaping was healthy. Now, however, the harmfulness of this activity has been confirmed by research. For now, scientists have focused on the changes taking place in the e-smoker mouth.

A series of new studies by scientists at NYU College of Dentistry highlights how e-cigarettes affect oral health and may contribute to gum disease. The latest publication in mBio states that e-cigarette users have a unique oral microbiome – i.e. a community of bacteria and other microorganisms – that is conducive to the emergence of gum disease. The same happens with users of analog cigarettes, only in their case the changes are even worse.

“We’re beginning to understand how e-cigarettes and the chemicals in them alter the oral microbiome and upset the bacterial balance,” says Deepak Saxena, who led the research with Xin Li. They are both professors of molecular pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry.

E-cigarettes lead to e-smokers’ immune system disorders and changes in their oral microbiome

Researchers examined the oral health of 84 adults in three groups: cigarette smokers, e-cigarette users and never smokers. The changes in their mouths were assessed on the basis of two dental examinations performed 6 months apart, during which scientists also analyzed the composition of the bacteria present there.

The results are fairly predictable: the highest percentage for gum disease was in the group who smoked analog cigarettes. The second, worst result, was achieved by e-cigarette users. The second, later dental examination also showed that the oral health of many of the subjects, including e-cigarette users, deteriorated significantly over a 6-month period.

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Interestingly, e-cigarette users had the worst results from all three groups when it comes to the so-called clinical loss of attachment, i.e. separation of gum ligaments and tissue from the surface of the teeth, which in turn results in receding gums and the formation of the so-called pockets in which bacteria harmful to the health of the oral cavity develop. Another difference between e-cigarette users and the other two study groups was the difference in the oral microbiome. It is about the increased presence of Fusobacterium and Bacteroidales, known to be associated with gum disease

Vaporization appears to lead to unique patterns of bacterial growth and affects the growth of certain bacteria in a similar way to smoking, but with its own profile and risk to oral health. Fangxi Xu said

A study by Xu and Saxena shows that changes in e-smokers’ oral microbiome are correlated with an increased risk of gum disease and changes in their immune system. It is about the effect of vaping on the level of cytokines that regulate the functioning of the immune system. His disturbed work may, moreover, be the reason for the more frequent occurrence of gum diseases. So: e-cigarettes in some respects can be more harmful than ordinary cigarettes. Research confirms this.