August JADA finds vaping common among college students
E-cigarette use could lead to caries, gingivitis
Electronic cigarette use is common among university students and may lead to negative oral health effects, such as caries and gingivitis, according to a study published in the August issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.
The cover story, “The Use of Electronic Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Among University Students and Their Potential Relationship with Oral Health: A Cross-Sectional Study,” used an electronic questionnaire to determine the prevalence of tobacco product use among 620 students at Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil. About half of the survey respondents then underwent a physical examination at the university dental clinic.
Of those who responded to the questionnaire, 57.1% reported using tobacco in some form, with 47.4% indicating they used e-cigarettes. Based on the physical exams, e-cigarette users had a higher proportion of white-spot caries lesions and gingivitis than those who did not use tobacco. When e-cigarette use was combined with using other forms of tobacco, additional oral changes were more prevalent, including coated tongue and nicotinic stomatitis.
“The use of tobacco in alternative forms, such as e-cigarettes, can affect oral health directly or indirectly,” the authors said in the study. “Dentists should be familiar with the characteristics of this population and the potential oral repercussions associated with tobacco use to address the impact on health and raise awareness of the associated risks.”
Other articles in the August issue of JADA discuss postoperative pain following endodontic treatment, global trends in caries incidence in children’s permanent teeth and initial treatment decisions based on in-person versus teledentistry exams for people with disabilities.
Every month, JADA articles are published online at JADA.ADA.org in addition to appearing in the print publication. ADA members can access JADA content with their ADA username and password.
