A Dental Health Perspective

The first vapes or “e-cigarettes” were introduced as a way for people to quit smoking. However, they quickly turned into a cultural phenomenon and became incredibly widespread. Today, there are hundreds of different types of vapes you can have, all of which provide different benefits—as well as a few drawbacks. With the increased popularity of vapes, many have been asking themselves, is vaping bad for your teeth? and does vaping stain teeth? In this article, we answer this question by focusing on different vaping ingredients and the effects they can have on your dental health. 

Does vaping damage your teeth?

The short answer to the question is yes, vaping can damage your teeth. The longer answer is more complex, as it must take into account the different vape ingredients that actually cause damage to the teeth. 

Over the past couple of years, vaping has been linked to:

• Stained teeth
  
  Although cigarettes stain teeth much quicker than vapes, e-cigarettes have also been associated with staining teeth. This is because of the nicotine they contain. Nicotine-free vapes don’t tend to cause stained teeth, unless they contain coloring agents.
  
  
• Faster plaque and bacterial growth

A few studies have shown that regular vape users have more plaque growth and more active oral bacteria than those who don’t vape.

• Inflammamed, bleeding, and receding gums
  
  There are a few ingredients commonly used in vapes which can irritate the gums, leading to inflammation and bleeding. Vapes that contain nicotine are particularly dangerous in that regard.
  
  
• Bad breath 

Yes, even fruit-flavored vapes can cause bad breath! This is mainly attributed to increasing bacterial growth, as well as mouth dryness. 

What vape ingredients are bad for your teeth?

Although it makes sense to talk about the dangers of vaping for dental health, it wouldn’t be fair to ignore the ingredients that actively damage your teeth. Let’s take a closer look at each one of them:

Nicotine

Does vaping stain teeth? Yes, it can because of nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive molecule found in tobacco and synthesized in a lot of vaping liquids. As well as being habit-forming, nicotine has also been found to stain teeth—though not as much as some of the other compounds in cigarette smoke. 

Nicotine has also been found to lower blood flow to the gums, which can lead to a slew of issues: receding gums, bleeding gums, and gingivitis. 

Propylene Glycol

Does vaping damage your teeth? It most definitely does if you’re vaping a product that contains PG (propylene glycol). PG is a clear liquid that’s used to dilute common vape juice ingredients like flavorings, nicotine, and even CBD or THC. It’s a cheap product that works well in terms of texture—but can cause some serious issues.

During the vaping process, as PG is transformed into vapor, it breaks down into other substances: lactic acid, acetic acid, propionaldehyde. All of these can break down enamel (the thin outer layer of the teeth) and damage gums and other soft tissue in the mouth. 

Vegetable Glycerine

Most vapes use either propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine. Although it’s the healthier of the two, VG (vegetable glycerine) also raises some issues. One study found that VG-based vaping liquid that contained flavorings caused oral bacteria to stick to the teeth four times as much as normal. In time, this can lead to tooth decay. 

How To Protect Your Dental Health While Vaping 

As you’ve gathered, vaping isn’t typically the best thing you can do for your teeth. That being said, there are types of vapes that don’t damage teeth at all—in short, those that don’t use the ingredients we mentioned in the last section. 

Choose The Right Vape

It is possible to vape without damaging your teeth. Here are a few tips to help you choose vaping products and devices that actally care for your dental health!

Choose vaping products that are nicotine-free. Although vaping nicotine is a lot healthier than smoking cigarettes, it’s still a molecule to avoid. Nicotine creates addiction, stains your teeth, and endangers your gums by reducing the amount of blood flow they receive. 

Avoid propylene glycol and, to a lesser extent, vegetable glycerine. Both of these ingredients can do a lot of damage to your teeth. Although they’re essential for creating the type of vape that produces a ton of vapor, there are plenty of alternatives. 

Try a vape that uses pure plant extracts. It’s a common misconception that every vape contains PG or VG, colorings, flavorings, or nicotine. There are vapes that strictly contain all-natural plant extracts and therefore won’t damage your teeth at all. For example, Renact’s vapes contain pure cannabinoids extracts only, giving you a vaping experience that leaves your teeth healthy (plus a lot of other benefits!)

Treat Your Teeth Right

If you’ve decided to stick with a more “traditional vape” that contains PG or VG and nicotine, there are still things you can do to minimize the risks to your dental health:

• Drink water after vaping to prevent dry mouth—which is associated with bacteria growth and bad breath. 
• Brush your teeth twice a day to prevent the formation of plaque and avoid staining. 
• Floss every day to minimize bacterial growth and keep your gums healthy. 
• Brush your tongue to get rid of bacterial growth and keep your mouth smelling fresh. 
• Use mouthwash to prevent plaque and prevent bad breath. 
• Don’t forget regular dentist visits to ensure you catch any issues early. 

Final Words

Unfortunately, the answer to the question does vaping damage your teeth? is yes… for the most part. The good news is that there are vapes out there that don’t stain teeth or irritate the gums because they aren’t formulated with any of the ingredients known to damage the teeth.

At Renact, we believe in creating all-natural vaping products that make vaping as healthy as it can be. Our pure-cannabis vaping extracts are free of nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, and flavorings to provide you with the purest experience possible. You can try out our sleep or anxiety-focused formulas today by ordering your first starter kit here!