Oral problems trigger tobacco use

On World Oral Health Day here's a startling revelation.

Oral health problems could serve as a trigger leading people to take to tobacco consumption. A recent study shows that while tobacco consumption causes oral health problems, it also works the other way round.

“The objective of the study was to discover if oral health related problems like toothache, ulcers, mobility of teeth, sensitivity of teeth and bad breath lead to tobacco use among individuals,” said Dr Mubeen, Professor and Head, Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Government Dental College and Research Institute (GDCRI).

The study was done by GDCRI in association with the Department of Community Medicine, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) as part of the project Quit Tobacco India, to identify the various causes that serve as triggers to tobacco addiction.

“We found that significant numbers of patients started or increased the habit of tobacco use, particularly the smokeless form, due to oral problems. Patients tend to either chew the product or pack the area with tobacco to achieve relief from pain,” said Dr Riyaz Basha, associate professor, community medicine, BMCRI.

Many of those in the study claimed that that tobacco consumption distracted them from their oral health problem or gave relief from pain.

“Most of them tried tobacco products on the suggestion of friends and relatives to reduce the pain. It was also observed that many patients who used tobacco products for relief from oral problems, continued the habit even when they were relived of the pain, which suggests that they were addicted to the tobacco products,” said Dr Jigna V. Raja, one of the investigators involved in this study.

She said that this study was an eye-opener for the team because they realised that people with oral health problems are vulnerable to getting addicted to tobacco. “So, we are planning to include anti-tobacco counselling sessions for all oral health patients because we know that they are prone to acquiring this addiction,” added Dr Jigna.

While it is a fact that tobacco addiction leads to oral, and of course other, health problems, this study proves that the other way round also happens and is common amongst many patients.