Hi all,

I went to the dentist a few days ago to get a check up and everything was fine: for the first time in my life not a single bad thing with my teeth. Then I asked him to check my upper lip, and his reaction surprised me. He told me that my gums looked irritated and darker than they should normally be. He told me I have a form of precancerous condition on my gums.

NOW: I live in Germany and my dentist had never heard about swedish snus. I came back home, had a look myself at the gums and, honestly, they look pretty much like "snus induced lesions" described everywhere. In addition, I use snus (regular portions) only since 2 months!!

What do you guys think about his diagnosis? Anybody has had similar experiences?

Never, Snus doesn't cause cancer so your dentist may be confused

What can it be then? What can be similar to what he described? Again, I can go up to 10 portions/day, but I started 2 months ago..

http://link.springer.com/static-content/lookinside/833/art%253A10.1186%252F1477-7517-10-36/000.png


well its kinda "natural" to have wrinkled mucosa that covers the spot you put the snus everyday. Snus has salt , which makes the cells of the mucosa shrink because they take all the water out because they try to balance their osmolarity with the environment .Its the same think when you go to the sea and have wrinkled fingers. And i dont think wrinkled finger can lead to cancer. BUT this dry skin can be an entrance for germs which can lead to infections, so never forget to brush your teeth and use mouth wash everyday. 

Yeah, I highly doubt you have pre-cancerous lesions after 2 months of snus use. I also am with Chad on this one; snus doesn't cause cancer. It's probably just wrinkled gums from putting the snus in that area.

Alright, thanks a lot for all your replies. I feel much better now

"A little secret" in Sweden among dentist is that snusers has better teeth health than non snusers because of the alkaline and the salivia in the mouth and lack of sugar as of the american crap. I´m 55 years old and have never have to fix my teeth  because one time of cracking a tooth due to popcorn. Hope you understand excuse my english. greetings from  Sweden, home of snus. Great stuff when you want to quit smoking and safe: Swedes are obssessed of safety

Dentists in Sweden like snus coz it´s good for you teeth. My dad started snusing in 1979 and has never had a problem with the teeth after he started. Since I started I have never had any problems. For example if you have a sweat tooth and drink a lot of soda your PH level will change to your benefit leveling out the playing field.

My corner tooth have almost no gum left but my dentists say that its all good:)

I went in for a cleaning and exam yesterday and all is good with the gums....the hygienist doing the cleaning told me that whatever I am doing....keep it up! I promised I would.... 

I just had a dental appointment last week. Everything is good. Some recession in the lower gums due to dip. My dentist actually said if I had to have some form of nicotine....then he preferred snus. Starting yesterday I got rid of all my dip and replaced it with General Mint portions. A new journey begins

Good luck on switching only to snus.

I just had a dental appointment last week. Everything is good. Some recession in the lower gums due to dip. My dentist actually said if I had to have some form of nicotine....then he preferred snus. Starting yesterday I got rid of all my dip and replaced it with General Mint portions. A new journey begins

That's good news! There are so many flavors of snus out there, that you could try a new one every week..... for me, the mint flavor got old pretty fast and I started looking for variety.

I do not tell my dentist or hygienist that I use snus, but ask questions about my gums condition, and mine are fine......I know that if I told them I would likely get the typical mis-informed lecture. 

Same here, my dentist is always surprised when I tell him I use snus because I have such great oral hygiene and he says my mouth looks better than many non tobacco users.