ABSTRACT
Qat leaves usually chewed during social and cultural gathering where the chewing practice may take up 5 hours. In the past, qat chewing habit was socially normalized among Yemeni adult male only, but, recently the habit spread to include a high percentage of females and even children. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of qat chewing on periodontal tissues [gingival recession and pocket depth] in addition to buccal ulcerative lesions in the oral side of chewing. The sample was 200Yemeni men over 20 years of age, who have been chewing qat for more than one year. They have been studied for the effects of qat on the chewing side compared with the opposite side that is not used for chewing. The study shows that the longer qat chewing duration, the prevalence of both gingival recession and periodontal pocket increased. Reversely, individuals with a history of less than five-year duration of chewing show almost a lower frequency of both gingival recession and periodontal pocket. The prevalence of the gingival recession and periodontal pocket is significantly more in the side of chewing. The study reveals that 56 out of 76 [73.7%] smokers are suffering from gingival recession, with a highest rate of the recession is recorded among those who have a history of smoking for more than 16 years. Only 24 cases [12%] show clinical ulcerative lesions on the buccal mucosa and there are no findings suspicious for pre-malignant or malignant changes. This study demonstrates a relationship between qat chewing and periodontal diseases, [gingival recession, pocket depth] attributed to chronic local mechanical effect. However, the study recommends further studies including longitudinal clinical inspections, biopsies of the tissue changes of qat chewers and the effects of chemicals used to accelerate the growth of the qat