Effect of tobacco smoking on the periodontal health in Parsa, Nepal: A comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: For ages, smoking tobacco has been a part of cultural practice in different parts of Nepal. For periodontal diseases, one of the important risk factors is tobacco smoking, mainly cigarette smoking. Objectives: This study was conducted to find out the relationship among tobacco smoking and periodontal disease by means of clinical attachment loss (CAL), plaque score, and gingival score in cigarette smoker patients in comparison with nonsmokers. Methodology: A comparative cross-sectional study was done among 300 patients who visited the Outpatient Department of Periodontics, M. B. Kedia Dental College, Parsa, Nepal. The patients were divided into two groups, cigarette smokers and nonsmokers. Oral cavity examination was done using plaque index, gingival index, and CAL. Mann–Whitney test was done to determine the relation between tobacco smoker and overall periodontal health. Results: The result shows that the overall median plaque score of the patients was 1.08, the gingival score of the patients was 1.22, and CAL was 2.04. Furthermore, there was statistical significance between periodontitis and cigarette smoking. Conclusion: The present study concluded that smoking has a negative effect on periodontium health. More duration of cigarette smoking habit had higher severity of symptoms when compared to nonsmokers.