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Smokers have less dense bones and fewer teeth
1Department of Chemical Pathology, United Medical School, Guy's Hospital, London.
Abstract:
Women and men who smoke are more slender than their non-smoking counterparts and have a bone density appropriate to their degree of slenderness. As a result, they are more likely to sustain a fracture than their non-smoking counterparts. The lower bone density found in smokers may arise because of less stress and strain imposed on the skeleton by a slim physique. Smokers have poorer oral hygiene and less teeth than their non-smoking counterparts. The relationship between smoking and tooth pathology remains unclear: smoking may either act via a direct mechanism based on the toxicity of tobacco smoke or indirectly through body weight (ie the effect on teeth is part of a wider effect on bone structure).