The relationship between smoking and periodontal status

ABSTRACT

Objective: this study was carried out to evaluate the relationship between smoking and periodontal status in a selected Malaysian population. The sample for this cross-sectional study involved 39 subjects who were smokers. Each subject was required to answer the guided questionnaire followed by clinical examination. The questionnaires had 11 questions and were set in English and Bahasa Melayu. Basically, the questionnaire consisted of 3 sections socio-demographic data, smoking status and subject's knowledge on periodontal health. The clinical parameters used in this study were Community Periodontal Index, Visible Plaque score, Gingival Bleeding Index and Calculus Surface Index. Results showed that out of 39 subjects, 28 subjects (71.8%) were current smokers, followed by 6 subjects (15.4%) and 5 subjects (12.8%) who were former and who never smoked respectively. From the 216 sextants examined, 42 sextants (19.4%) were healthy gingival, 127 sextants (58.8%) suffered from gingivitis and 47 (21.8%) sextants suffered from periodontitis. There were positive relationships between smoking and periodontal status.