# Coming down from nicotine addiction and oral relief **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2002, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-down-from-nicotine-addiction-and-oral-relief/128978 "2002-09-21T11:09:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-down-from-nicotine-addiction-and-oral-relief/128978/1 "2002-09-21T11:09:47Z")
Believe me, it’s a difficult question to frame. That’s the least _nudge, nudge, wink, wink_ I could thing of. Where was I… I rarely, if ever, even think of cigarettes in conjunction with the likely associative suspects so, I guess, the ‘habit’/association stuff seems easier than I imagined (start 'puter = smoke, jump in car = smoke, enter the pub = smoke, etc, etc). Not counting my chickens yet though. Also, the _general_ physical addiction seems to be in hand – using industrial strength patches for now, will progress down levels/doses in due course. But then the third aspect of this axis of evil seems to be the oral thing (at least in my best assessment – difficult to entirely trust yourself when it’s you who’s the drug addict). Anyway, I’m not sure what’s afoot here. I’m guessing the _general_ physical addiction symptoms manifest in ways other than oral cravings – I suspect the oral issue is more related to the manner in which the drug was self-administered. If that’s correct, I’m looking to explore this angle. Now! On speaking to a friend last night, it seems dentists may be able to relieve me of (much of the) considerable nicotine residue. This seems important as it’s continued presence in my mouth (particularly on the tongue) acts as a diminishing reminder (that craves to be fed). If that residue were gone – and I’m told the acute nicotine addiction passes in 48-72 hours – it would mean a weeks/months of these nagging reminders through the every-so-slow diminishment would be curtailed into a hard-but-manageable 48-72 hour head-banging session. Am I making any sense at all – anyone know what dentist procedures are available, if any – whether the theory makes any kind of sense – \ ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-down-from-nicotine-addiction-and-oral-relief/128978/2 "2002-09-21T11:16:12Z")
In all probability, a standard tooth cleaning should get rid of any nicotine that’s in your mouth. Personally, I found sucking on lemon flavored candy to be a big help in eliminating any of the cravings I have. ---
**Author:** ![Jenna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Jenna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenna)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-down-from-nicotine-addiction-and-oral-relief/128978/3 "2002-09-21T13:10:48Z")
As long as you administer the drug, nicotine in this instance, you will continue to crave it. 72 Hours is a good estimate of how long it will take to get through the worst of the withdrawals if you are NOT giving yourself a steady supply of nicotine (via the patch, or otherwise). I am by no means trying to tell you that cold-turkey is the only way to quit. If it’s the taste in your mouth that is giving you cravings, then perhaps cleaning will help ease those. But if you are trying to get nicotine out of your body faster, the patch is impeding progress. Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking!