The effect of dry saliva due to smoking can cause caries

 

 General dentist at the University of Indonesia Hospital, drg. Deasy Rosalina M.MedSc said that cigarettes can have the effect of reducing saliva which causes xerostomia or dryness of the oral cavity.

"This dryness of the oral cavity can increase the risk of caries or cavities. So, this saliva is actually the body's mechanism for the defense process in the oral cavity so that oral immunity decreases," said Deasy in a health discussion monitored online.

Deasy explained that saliva production decreases due to smoking, making the tissues and oral cavity susceptible to infection, as well as changes in the composition of the smoker's saliva to become more acidic.