Baseball Season Could Mean Oral Health Problems for Teens

Whether you have a child in little league, high school, or college, if he or she is playing baseball, there is definitely a chance the child will fall for the romance of chewing tobacco. It is no secret our children emulate pro athletes and unfortunately, that means their good habits as well as their bad habits.

Baseball & Tobacco

While we are seeing less tobacco chewing at all levels of baseball, it still runs rampant. Several years ago, former major league pitcher Curt Schilling shared his story of dipping and how he got oral cancer from it. That story was a rude awakening for many teen baseball players that were taking part of the “tradition” of chewing while playing.

Even so, it has not scared off everyone. Researchers have found that an alarming rate of young boys are chewing tobacco in grammar school. And, when they go to high school, that number increases significantly, with estimates of some 20 percent of high school boys using some form of smokeless tobacco.

Sadly, roughly half of them develop pre-cancerous white patches in their mouths. This is a pre-cancer warning sign that should not be ignored.

Just Because It Doesn’t Smoke…

One of the biggest misconceptions out there is that tobacco only causes harm due to the smoke that enters the lungs. What many people do not realize is that many of the smokeless products are just as dangerous. One of the more popular products these days is “snus,” a small pouch that gets placed between the gum and lip.

While snus is not as messy as chewing tobacco (the user does not have to “spit” nearly as often as traditional chewing tobacco or dip), it is just as dangerous. Even the packaging tells the user it is NOT a “safe alternative” to smoking tobacco.

Why Do Dangerous?

Even though it is not smoked, chewing tobacco and products like “snus” still have many of the harmful toxins used in smoking tobacco:

• There are at least 28 cancer-causing chemicals in most smokeless tobacco products
  
• These products are known to cause cancer in the tongue, lip, mouth, and pancreas
  
• Because the “juice” is sometimes swallowed, using these products can also lead to cancer of the colon, bladder, esophagus, and voice box
  
• Because these products are often sweetened to enhance the flavor, they can also promote tooth decay
  

If you or your child are using smokeless tobacco products, you need to make sure you are seeing a dentist regularly. Our New Hampshire family discount dental planscan help reduce the cost of dental care significantly. For more information, please click here.