4. Cigarettes,  E-cigarettes, & Spit Tobacco

The warning labels on cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products haven’t gotten the point across, Tobacco is bad for your body and bad for your oral health. It:

a. Reduces blood flow to your gums
b. Reduces the Vitamin C levels needed to keep your gums healthy
c. Raises the temperature in the mouth, damaging and killing important cells.

Four times as many teenagers have tried Electronic Cigarettes than adults, because they feel they are safe or cool. Regardless of how it’s delivered, nicotine is still a highly addictive drug that should be avoided by everyone, especially growing teens.

If you think going smokeless is any better, it’s not. The amount of nicotine in one dip, or chew, of spit tobacco can deliver up to 5 times the amount found in one cigarette. Spit tobacco (a.k.a. dip, snuff, chew, and chewing tobacco) users are 50 times more likely than nonusers to contract cancers of the cheek, gums, inner surface of the lips, throat, esophagus, larynx, stomach, and pancreas.

5. Make time for healthy habits. Teens eat quick meals in the form of "nutrition" bars and fast food to stay alert and on schedule between school, extracurricular activities and part-time jobs. However, these habits can permanently damage oral and overall health. Teens should have access to healthy snacks such as apples, carrot sticks and low-fat cheese. Keeping a travel-size toothbrush in a locker or backpack can help teens keep up good teeth-cleaning habits by brushing after meals and snacks.