Study shows vaping damages the mouth ten times faster than smoking

Changes to cell composition in the mouth and in the keratin layer that would take five years to manifest in smokers appeared after just six months of vape use.

Researchers have found vaping is a greater and faster acting threat to oral health than smoking, with damage appearing ten times sooner.

Researchers have found vaping is a greater and faster acting threat to oral health than smoking, with damage appearing ten times sooner.

By tracking the effect of vaping on the microbiome of the mouths of former smokers who now vaped and individuals who both vaped and smoked, it was found that vaping had a far more pronounced impact.

Changes to cell composition within the mouth and in the keratin layer that would take five years to manifest in smokers appeared after just six months of vape use.

Professor Purnima Kumar, the principal investigator of the Oral Microbial Ecology Laboratory at the University of Michigan, conducted the research initially and presented her findings at the World Dental Congress at the International Convention Centre in Sydney on Tuesday.

Professor Purnima Kumar found that vaping could have negative oral health effects ten times faster than smoking cigarettes

“The mouth actually provides a huge amount of protection to the body … it is the first organ of impact,” Dr Kumar said.

“The mouth sits at the intersection of the environment and human physiology, and sits at the gateway to the body.”

Vapes entered the Australian market in 2003 and have risen in mainstream access and appeal for the last decade, despite regulation as early as 2009.

“If we look for clinical changes [such as] gum disease, more cavities, more cancer, it’s too early to be making those kinds of calls yet,” Dr Kumar said.

“The disease itself takes a while to show up and we’re not at that point in time.”

Current research cannot tell how much of the gum damage contracted from vaping is permanent, but has shown it emerges whether or not the vape contains nicotine.

“What we can do, is look for what are known as markers of harm,” Dr Kumar said.

“We know from smoking … that there are specific changes that happen in the mouth, cellular changes at the molecular level, that are huge predictors of future disease.

“We are seeing those markers of harm … show up in vapers within six months of vaping.”

A clinical trial on wound healing in vapes and non vapers, found that recovery for oral damage was three times slower in those who vaped, with the quality of healing rarely ever matching up.

Damage to oral health is hard to identify without a dentist, with bleeding gums being one of the few visible signs of major inflammation. That said, there are no definitive diagnostic signs of damage to oral health by vaping, or that individuals have contracted gum disease.

Vapes are theorised to be more destructive because of the body’s willingness to break down their chemical by-products and accept them into the cells.

“As soon as you vape, the vapour is a resource that these bacteria use,” Dr Kumar said.

“They break these down into metabolic products, some of these products act as toxins to create inflammation.

“When these bacteria and their structure … is changed because you start vaping, then the immune system doesn’t recognise that these bacteria are friends and it gets super inflammatory.”

In the future Dr Kumar hopes to conduct further research on the impact of maternal vaping, the permanence of oral health damage, and whether vaping can be an effective tool to help quit smoking.

“Maternal smoking has a huge impact on the types of bacteria the newborn baby picks up in their mouth,” Dr Kumar said.

“We do need to study if we will see a similar effect with vaping.”

Professor Brian Oliver led the study on third-hand vape smoke at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. Photo: Supplied

When infants pick up the bacteria associated with a mother who smokes, it alters their microbiome and makes them more susceptible to disease, as their immune system is less likely to filter out harmful particles ingested into the body.

A study on maternal vaping by Professor Brian Oliver from the Woolcock institute found that vaping during pregnancy caused damage to the lungs, kidney and liver, while altering the microbiome.

“It seems they are more prone to developing disease,” Dr Oliver said.

“[Mouse subjects] had chronic inflammation which persisted until adulthood.”