Drinking with friends or colleagues once every month or every week helps build vital interpersonal relationships. Moderate alcohol consumption is acceptable but drinking in excess can have detrimental effects on your oral and overall health. Alcohol can damage many parts of your body, including the teeth and the gums. For instance, drinking can worsen the effects of wisdom tooth plantation. Wisdom teeth erupt where you find it the hardest to brush or floss. Excessive drinking will deposit chemical residues from alcohol on your wisdom teeth and cause significant damage. When this happens, you’d have to seek help for wisdom teeth removal.
How Does Alcohol Damage the Teeth?
Drinking alcohol introduces acids into your mouth that weaken the tooth’s enamel over time. Alcoholic drinks also have a high sugar content that forms a plaque on teeth and attracts bacteria.
What Oral Health Problems Does Drinking Create?
Alcohol abuse results in various oral health problems. These include the following:
Discoloration
Most beverages contain artificial coloring called chromogens. Together with sugar and acid, these substances adhere to the enamel when you drink alcohol. If you don’t rinse them away immediately, chromogens can stain or darken your teeth. Chromogens can be absorbed from mixed drinks and beer.
Cavities
Both acid and sugar trigger chemical reactions that eat away at your teeth’s enamel. Alcohol abuse and poor oral hygiene allow acid and plaque to continue attacking the teeth until cavities form. Cavities are small holes that actively burrow into teeth until they reach and infect the pulp. Unless treated, the infection will spread to neighboring teeth and destroy them, which may require tooth extraction or a root canal treatment. Having cavities in your wisdom teeth Plantation will further complicate your condition.
Gum Infections
Over time, the plaque that forms on your teeth’s enamel turns into tartar. Tartar provides a protective environment for the bacteria to flourish. As the bacteria multiply, they inflame the lining between the tooth and the gums. The inflammation causes gum bleeding and tooth decay, which leads to periodontitis and tooth loss.
Drink Moderately
The key is to practice moderation. Don’t consume more than two drinks a day. Rinse your mouth with water between drinks to flush away plaque and acid. Most importantly, observe proper oral hygiene. Floss your teeth, especially at the site of wisdom tooth plantation, between meals to remove food residue, and brush at least two times a day.
Do You Need Help With Wisdom Teeth Plantation?
Feel free to contact us at Oral Facial Reconstruction for inquiries on wisdom teeth removal, dental implants and facial cosmetic surgery.
