title: Exposure to tobacco smoking and periodontal health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The influence of smoking behavior on the periodontal health condition was clinically and radiographically studied in 257 dentally aware adults in the age range 20-69 years, including 50 current smokers, 61 former smokers and 133 non-smokers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The clinical variables to be investigated were frequency of diseased sites > or =4 mm, frequency of gingival bleeding sites and plaque index. In addition, the periodontal bone height was radiographically assessed as a % of the dental root length.
  
  
  METHODS
  All variables were based on full-mouth examinations including all teeth and periodontia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The observations indicated an inferior periodontal health condition associated with smoking. This was evidenced by a significantly greater frequency of diseased sites and a significantly greater reduction of periodontal bone height in current smokers as compared to non-smokers. The condition of former smokers was intermediate between current smokers and non-smokers, suggesting that former smokers who have quit smoking have a better periodontal health condition than current smokers, although worse than that of non-smokers. The finding that former smokers exhibited less disease than current smokers suggests that smoking cessation may be beneficial and mitigate the untoward effects inflicted by smoking, allowing a normalization towards non-smoker conditions. Heavy exposure was consistently associated with more severe a condition than light exposure, suggesting that the relationship between smoking exposure and periodontal morbidity is dose-dependent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altogether, the present observations identify a negative impact from smoking on periodontal health and provide further evidence that tobacco smoking is an avoidable risk for periodontal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, The Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bergström
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eliasson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dock
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011859:Radiography; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016540:Smoking Cessation