Is Vaping Bad for your Teeth? How It Compares to Tobacco

Smoking is often associated with bad oral health, from stained teeth and bad breath to more serious things like gum infections and tooth loss. And while vaping is known to be far less harmful than smoking tobacco, does the harm reduction include less damage to oral health?

A recent study of dental plaque build-up published in Science Direct suggests that combustion-free nicotine delivery technologies such as vapes are unlikely to contribute to dental plaque development above that found in non-smokers. It went on to say that exclusive use of e-cigarettes may also result in reduced accumulation of dental plaque and calculus compared with tobacco smoking.

But what about staining, tooth decay, and gum disease? Is vaping bad for your oral health, and is it better or worse for maintaining a gapless smile than smoking tobacco?

Key Takeaways

Nicotine has negative effects on oral health, no matter if it comes from e-liquid, tobacco smoke, or nicotine pouches. It has been shown to reduce blood flow to the gums and reduce the body’s ability to fight infection.
Dehydration caused by vaping could contribute to bad oral hygiene by reducing saliva production. Maintaining normal saliva levels is important for maintaining the health of the mouth and teeth.
Vape liquids contain artificial sweeteners rather than sugar. The most commonly used is sucralose. Studies suggest artificial sweeteners could be good for oral health by working against the causes of tooth decay.
Some vapers might notice staining on their teeth, but it is almost always far less than is caused by smoking. The main cause of tooth staining is tar accumulating in the porous tooth enamel. E-cigarettes do not produce tar.

The Effects of Nicotine on Oral Health

Nicotine has long been known to be damaging to oral health in a couple of ways. Firstly, when absorbed into the lining of the mouth, including the gums, it reduces blood flow. When your gums aren’t fully supplied with blood they can shrink, allowing bacteria to find a way in to attack the weaker parts of the teeth.

Nicotine also adversely affects your immune system, so any cuts, ulcers, or scratches in your mouth heal more slowly, further putting your mouth at risk of infection and slowing down recovery time from dental procedures. Nicotine is not very nice stuff, and reducing the amount introduced to our bodies should be the goal of anyone who vapes.

Of course, it isn’t only vapers who should worry about the effects of nicotine on the health of their mouth. Tobacco smokers also face this problem, alongside the dangers of the numerous toxic chemicals tobacco smoke contains. It’s also worth noting that cigarettes generally provide a lot more nicotine than an e-cigarette (assuming the suggested 15 to 20 puffs is equivalent to smoking one cigarette.)

Average Nicotine Content in One Cigarette = 12-20mg
Average Nicotine Content in 20 puffs on a 20mg/ml Vape = 2mg*
Average Nicotine Content in 20 puffs on a 50mg/ml Vape = 5mg*

(*based on e-liquid providing an average of 200 puff per 1ml.)

Will Vaping Stain My Teeth?

Staining and yellowing of teeth is a common problem among tobacco smokers, so it might be easy to assume that vaping will also result in a less-than-pearly-white smile. However, while heavy vaping could lead to stained teeth, it is very unlikely to do so in the same way smoking tobacco does.

The primary cause of tooth staining in smokers is the tar produced by burning tobacco, which is not something vapers have to worry about (nicotine can also contribute to yellow teeth but to a far lesser degree.)

However well you look after your teeth, dental enamel is porous, which allows substances like tar to stick to the surface of the teeth. Tar can be very hard to remove efficiently, and can quickly build up on the surface and pores of the tooth enamel to a degree where only professional cleaning will help. Remove the tar, as vaping does, and the problem of stained teeth is much reduced.

The physical action of smoking and vaping is also different. Vapes aren’t held between the lips for extended periods as some smokers do with cigarettes. The drip tip on a vape device is commonly inserted further into the mouth than a cigarette, often past the teeth, meaning the vapor is not being inhaled directly onto the tooth surface.

If you notice staining on your teeth caused by vaping, brushing your teeth more often with a slightly abrasive toothpaste should fix it. Changing the way you vape so that the vapor is not sucked directly onto your teeth and avoiding dark or artificially colored vape liquids will also help.

Dehydrating Effect of Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerin (VG)

We have looked at the dehydrating effect of the PG and VG ingredients in vape liquids elsewhere on Versed Vaper, but it is worth looking at again concerning oral health rather than simply as an annoying side effect of using e-cigarettes.

Dehydration caused by vaping is a body-wide effect but, for reasons that should be obvious, is felt particularly strongly in the mouth and throat. Dehydration means less saliva, which is an essential part of your mouth’s defense against the build-up of bacteria.

Your saliva, when being produced in normal amounts, naturally helps the mouth to rid itself of food debris and introduced bacteria, and has mild antioxidant properties. A lack of saliva can combine with the degrading effect of nicotine on the immune system, increasing the potential for oral health problems.

Although tobacco smokers don’t encounter the dehydrating effect of PG and VG, that doesn’t mean smoking is better for oral health than vaping. Studies have shown that tobacco smoke causes saliva to thicken, reducing its effectiveness as an antioxidant.

Long-term smoking reduces the secretion of saliva, and substances from cigarette smoke destroy protective enzymes and proteins. According to the study:

“…that means saliva loses its protective qualities and becomes an agent in carcinogenesis and the development of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.”

Do Sweet Vape Liquids Contain Sugar?

Vape liquids are available in many flavors, from tobacco and menthol to fruit and candy-inspired. The flavorings added to the base PG/VG ingredients are almost always food-safe (if you buy your e-liquids from reputable brands, which you should, of course.) But do those flavorings include sugar?

The simple answer is no, sweet-tasting candy, dessert, or fruit-inspired e-liquids do not contain sugar. Most e-liquids are sweetened using sucralose, an FDA-approved artificial sweetener often used as a zero-calorie sugar replacement, better known by the brand name Splenda. Some liquids use alternative sweeteners like ethyl maltol, but none use sugar.

Sugar would not work in e-liquids because of the way it behaves when heated. In essence, it would caramelize, just like when sugar is heated in a pan on the stove, and quickly ruin the efficiency of the vape coil and wicking material.

So then, is sucralose also bad for your teeth? According to numerous medical sources, the answer here is also no: sucralose has no adverse effects on dental health. In fact, an IJBCP study found that artificial sweeteners may have an anti-cariogenic (cariogenic means producing or promoting the development of tooth decay) effect. So not only do they not contribute to tooth decay, but substances such as sucralose may even work against it.

Reducing the Effects of Vaping on Your Mouth

The best way to protect your mouth from the potentially harmful effects of vaping is to kick the habit. But if you aren’t quite ready to put down your pod or mod device for good, there are several ways to reduce the chances that vaping will result in more expensive and unpleasant visits to the dentist.

Good Oral Hygiene

The best way to ensure your mouth retains a healthy smile is to develop or improve your oral hygiene routine. Brushing teeth at least twice a day, careful flossing, and using a good sugar-free mouthwash should be a minimum. It might also be a good idea to not vape after brushing your teeth before going to bed.

Drinking More Water

Pushing yourself to drink more water while vaping will reduce the problems associated with dehydration. It will also wash away some of the nicotine from the surface of mouth tissue and dilute the acids that can build up in the mouth after eating, smoking, vaping, etc. Tap water also often contains naturally occurring fluoride (depending on where you live, tap water might also have extra fluoride added) which is good for helping to prevent tooth cavities.

Reducing the Nicotine Strength of Your Vape Juice

Unlike smoking tobacco, vapers can very easily reduce their nicotine intake without giving up completely. You might think you need 20mg/ml strength e-liquids to satisfy your cravings, but trying to slowly drop down to 15, 12, 10, or even 6 mg/ml, will have health benefits for your mouth and elsewhere.

Avoid Vaping After Dental Work

Even minor dental work can result in small cuts and scratches in the mouth. Avoiding vaping as much as possible in the days (or weeks if having an extraction or other major dental procedure done) following a visit to the dentist will allow the mouth to heal better and help avoid the possibility of infection.

The Bottom Line

Vaping certainly isn’t good for oral health, but it is likely to be far less harmful than smoking tobacco. In certain areas, such as the accumulation of dental plaque, vaping appears to be no more of a problem than it is for non-smokers, and even the harm caused to the mouth by nicotine is usually going to be less than that seen in tobacco smokers.