IMPACTS OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES ON ORAL HEALTH: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The electronic cigarette, also known as an electronic smoking device (ESD), vape, or vapor pen, emerged on the market proposing to reduce the use of conventional cigarettes. This work aims to review the relevant literature regarding the impact of electronic cigarettes on oral health and emphasize the adverse effects on periodontal tissues. More specifically, it aims to identify the main components present in electronic cigarettes, compare them to conventional cigarettes, and finally, highlight the periodontal damage and possible alterations in the oral microbiota caused by their continuous use. The work is a narrative literature review, carried out from the survey of theoretical references already analyzed and published in electronic databases such as SCIELO, BVS, PUBMED, BBO-Odontologia, and Google Scholar. The selection of articles, based on reading titles and abstracts, was based on the relevance of the subject matter to the objectives of this study, as well as works published in Portuguese and English, available in full text, and published from 2010 onwards. Opinion articles and those not related to the main objective of the work were excluded. The review revealed that, although electronic cigarettes have been presented as a less harmful alternative to conventional smoking, their use is associated with significant adverse effects on the oral mucosa and periodontal tissues, favoring inflammatory processes that compromise oral health.