title: Association between betel quid chewing, periodontal status and periodontal pathogens.
abstract: The present investigation examined whether an association exists between betel quid chewing and signs of periodontal disease and determined the prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis by polymerase chain reaction. The periodontal status of 34 betel quid chewers and 32 non-betel quid chewers were compared. A significantly higher prevalence of bleeding on probing was found in betel quid chewers than non-chewers among the subjects with higher plaque level, greater gingival inflammation, deeper probing depth or greater attachment loss. Also, the results suggested that betel quid chewers may harbor higher levels of infection with A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis than non-betel quid chewers. The association persists after adjusting for severity of the clinical parameters. In conclusion, betel quid chewing was associated with a higher prevalence of bleeding on probing where higher clinical levels of disease existed, and with a likelihood of subgingival infection with A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis.
authors.affiliation: Section of Periodontology, Dental Department, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201 Shih-Pai Road, Sec. 2, Taipei, Taiwan 11217, Republic of China.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000189:Actinobacillus Infections / Q000145:classification; D000328:Adult; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000254:growth & development; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001114:Areca / Q000009:adverse effects; D016866:Bacteroidaceae Infections / Q000145:classification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D005883:Gingival Crevicular Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000145:classification; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication; D008875:Middle Aged; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000145:classification; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000254:growth & development; D012907:Smoking; D013223:Statistics as Topic