Woman Shares What Years of Vaping Have Done to Her Teeth in Terrifying Clip

A 20-year-old is sharing what five years of vaping has done to her teeth after a nightmare trip to the dentist.

In the clip shared on TikTok, user Mary Kate Willis (@mk9unit) said that dentists had always praised her perfect, straight white teeth.

"[They're] shocked I've never had braces," she said in the viral clip.

However, she'd avoided going to the dentist for four years due to developing an eating disorder, a diet coke addiction, drug use and a vaping habit.

"I have a horrible, crippling, flavored airstick dependency," she said in the video. "But I knew I had to get my wisdom teeth out and I had one cavity."

While attending the appointment, the poster got the shock of her life. After undergoing -rays and a 3D scan of her mouth, it was discovered that Willis had five cavities, gum disease and that oral cancer was beginning to develop—which the dentist blames on her vaping habit.

"My teeth are chipping because I vape," she said. "The cavities could be from the diet coke, but they're trying to relate that to the vaping."

The dentist asked Willis where she went to high school, and when she revealed the name of her hometown, they weren't surprised. They also guessed that she was around 14 or 15 when she started vaping.

"I was told I had to quit nicotine within the year otherwise my teeth are going to start falling out," she continued.

"I don't know how I feel about that information. That was not what I expected to walk into the dentist to."

This video contains some profanity.

Fatima Khan, a dentist and the co-founder of Riven Oral Care, said that vaping has both short- and long-term effects on your teeth.

From an aesthetic standpoint, vaping quickly stains users' teeth, as it's rich in nicotine and coloring agents. However, it also leads to dry mouth, with the lack of saliva causing everything from ulcers to bad breath, cavities and gingivitis.

"Vaping can also lead to an exponential growth of pathogenic bacteria that can begin to form below the gumline and lead to periodontal disease," she told Newsweek.

Once gingivitis sets in, vaping will exacerbate the issue. While gingivitis is reversible, it can develop into periodontitis, which affects the underlying gum tissue and alveolar bone (that supports your teeth), leading to tooth loss. However, that's not the worst that can happen.

"Formaldehyde exposure from vaping can alter your mouth lining and lead to oral cancer," Khan said.

"Nevertheless, the risk of oral cancer is still lower with vaping than compared to smoking or chewing tobacco."

In the comments, Willis explained she began vaping in her teens because it was marketed as the "cool" thing to do, and advised other vapers to get their teeth checked out.

"They prob see it more than you know with our generation," she said. "It's better to know before it progresses."

TikTok users were horrified by the video, with the clip receiving 4.7 million views.

"Omg i had NO idea any of this was a thing ?!?!!," commented Jules.

"I'm scared to go to the dentist now," said Bowee.

"IT JUST KEPT ESCALATING," wrote K.

"I think this is what i needed to hear do I don't start vaping again," said ella.

"My tooth just chipped a few days ago and I've been hitting the flavor stick for quite a while now, this might be my sign," commented jordan.

"Thank you for being so vulnerable about this," said Lev. "Because people need to see it."

Newsweek reached out to @mk9unit for comment via email.

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Correction 06/16/23, 11:07 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the name of Fatima Khan. The article originally spelled her name as "Falma."