title: Influence of tobacco smoking on dental periapical condition in a sample of Croatian adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since current evidences support a negative influence of tobacco smoking on the periodontal bone, an increased prevalence or severity of periapical lesions would be expected among smokers. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in the periapical status of endodontically treated and untreated teeth in current smokers and never-smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study included 259 subjects, 108 current smokers and 151 never-smokers, presenting as new patients at the Dental Clinic of the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, Croatia. The periapical index (PAI) was used to assess the periapical status of all teeth, excluding third molars.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current smokers had higher fraction of teeth with apical periodontitis (AP) than never-smokers (0.13 vs. 0.10; P = 0.025), while fractions of endodontically treated teeth and endodontically treated teeth with AP did not differ significantly. When overall number of teeth was controlled for, smokers were 16.4 times more likely to have AP than a non-smokers (95% CI: 5.7-47.7; P < 0.001) and if a person was male, he was 3.1 times more likely to have AP than if the person was female (95% CI: 1.1-8.9; P = 0.039). The probability of AP increases with increase of age. Smokers will on average have two teeth with AP more than non-smokers, while controlling for gender, age and overall number of teeth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry, Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Kresimirova 40, 51 000, Rijeka, Croatia. rpersic@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Romana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peršić Bukmir
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry, Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Kresimirova 40, 51 000, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jurčević Grgić
authors.affiliation: IT Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brumini
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Stjepan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spalj
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology, Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pezelj-Ribaric
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry, Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Kresimirova 40, 51 000, Rijeka, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Brekalo Pršo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010485:Periapical Periodontitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018401:Sample Size; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Endodontics; Periapical periodontitis; Root canal therapy; Smoking; Tobacco