COLUMBUS, OHIO — A team of researchers has found unhealthy bacteria and inflammation in the gums of e-cigarette smokers that could lead to more severe gum diseases.
Research published in the journal Science Advances found that the gums of healthy individuals who used e-cigarettes contained damaging bacteria and showed signs of gum disease.
The team of specialists studied the gums of 123 individuals.
25 of them were smokers, another 25 were non-smokers, 20 used e-cigarettes, 25 were former smokers who used e-cigarettes and 28 were both cigarette and e-cigarette smokers.
Results showed that e-cigarette use causes a change in the microbial landscape of the gums, making its healthy bacteria unrecognizable to our immune system.
This then triggers an inflammatory response in the gums and coats healthy bacteria with a layer of slime.
This phenomenon was observed even in those using non-nicotine e-cigarettes.
This caused the team of researchers to believe that the liquid in electronic cigarettes could be triggering this phenomenon.
