On World No Tobacco Day, dentists say city's young smokers are ready to spend up to Rs 15K every three months to get rid of nicotine stains, but won't give up smoking
On World No Tobacco Day, dentists say city's young smokers are ready to spend up to Rs 15K every three months to get rid of nicotine stains, but won't give up smoking
Dentists across the city are observing a paradoxical yet profitable trend. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people who can't kick the butt, but will pay through their nose to maintain their dazzling smiles.
According to dentists, students and young working professionals hooked to nicotine spend up to Rs 15,000 every three months to get their teeth bleached to deal with the yellow stains caused by excessive smoking.
"We used to get only actors and models earlier, but now we also get students who have that kind of money to spend on making their teeth look good," said Dr Ashok Dhoble of the Indian Dental Association, on the sidelines of an event organised on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, yesterday.
Chronic smokers
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KICK THE BUTT: Actors Shreyas Talpade and Amrita Rao during the launch of tobacco intervention centres by the Indian Dental Association in partnership with the Maharashtra government at St Andrews auditorium, Bandra, yesterday. PIC/SHADAB KHAN |
Dhoble added that the number of such cases had increased by nearly 50 per cent over the last five years. "If the stains are not severe, a polishing procedure can cost about Rs 1,000. However, there are chronic smokers who come in with significantly dark stains on their teeth that require intense bleaching procedures that can cost anything from Rs 10,000-15,000," he said, adding that he sees close to 20 patients in the age bracket of late teens to early 20s every month for such procedures.
'Cancer tomorrow'
Dentists, however, are quick to warn that excessive yellowing of teeth due to smoking can be the first sign of cancerous lesions in the mouth.
"It's yellow stains today, cancer tomorrow and then complete mouth reconstructive surgery that is not only traumatic, but also expensive. The amount that these young people spend on these things is far more than what they spend on cigarettes," said Dr Paramjit Singh, president of IDA, which is currently planning 5,000 tobacco intervention centres across India.
Numbers louder than wordsCost of an average pack of cigarettes (20 to a pack): Rs 85 u2013 Rs 100
Cost of teeth polishing (to remove minor stains): Rs 1,000 u2013 Rs 1,500
Cost of teeth bleaching (to remove major stains):u00a0 Rs 10,000 - Rs 15,000
Cost of treatment of oral cancer: Rs 3.5 lakh +
