Post: Cannabis smoking can cause cavities, severe tooth loss

Credit: Unsplash+ It has been known for a long time that smoking cannabis can cause problems with the lungs, heart, and brain.

Now, new research shows that frequent smoking of cannabis may also lead to serious problems with your teeth.

Dr. Ellyce Clonan from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine has found that people who smoke cannabis often have a higher risk of tooth decay and even lose their teeth.

Her work is featured on the cover of the January 2025 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Dr. Clonan, who became a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatric and Community Dentistry in the spring of 2024, first noticed a link between cannabis use and dental problems while she was working at a public clinic at Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, New York.

In the clinic, patients would usually answer “no” when asked if they smoked.

However, when she gave them home care instructions after a tooth extraction—such as avoiding fried foods and smoking—they would often admit that they smoked cannabis. This observation led her to look more closely at the possible connection between frequent recreational cannabis use and oral health issues.

To investigate this connection, Dr. Clonan conducted a study using data from 5,656 adults between the ages of 18 and 59. The information came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2015 and 2018.

In her study, she looked at people who reported smoking cannabis at least once a month for over a year. The results showed that these regular cannabis smokers had a 17% higher chance of having untreated cavities in the crown of their teeth.They also had 55% higher odds of cavities on the root surfaces of their teeth, and 41% higher odds of severe tooth loss compared to those who did not smoke cannabis. These differences were seen even after the researchers took into account factors like age, gender, race, education, income, and alcohol use.Dr. Clonan explains that smoking cannabis puts heat and smoke close to the mouth, which is not good […]

Cannabis smoking can cause cavities, severe tooth loss