Evaluation of periodontal health among tobacco chewers, smokers and non-tobacco users: A case-control study

Introduction: Periodontal disease is a multifactorial disease and one of the most common chronic diseases of the oral cavity. Smoking has a long-term chronic effect on many important aspects of the inflammatory and immune responses. Tobacco smoke has been found to affect both cell-mediated immunity and humoral immunity. Oral smokeless tobacco consumption has been considered a major risk factor for oral cancer. Its role as a risk factor for periodontal disease is less well-documented when compared to that of the relationship between smoking and periodontal disease. Materials and Methods: One hundred and eighty participants willing to sign informed consent were selected randomly with no gender bias, and the purpose of the study was explained. The periodontal examination was conducted, and the oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S), community periodontal index (CPI) score and loss of attachment (LOA) score were recorded. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 20 software. Results: Sixty participants in each group were examined. OHI-S mean score in Group 1 was 1.77 +/- 0.43, in Group 2, it was 1.70 +/- 0.65 and in Group 3, it was 1.73 +/- 0.55. The mean value of CPI was 3.32 +/- 0.47 in Group 1, 2.17 +/- 0.46 in Group 2 and 2.67 +/- 0.54 in Group 3. In comparison, the mean value of CPI-LOA was 1.35 +/- 0.48 in Group 1, 1.65 +/- 0.5 in Group 2 and 1.18 +/- 0.65 in Group 3. Conclusion: The present survey concluded that tobacco consumption in both the forms caused poor periodontal status, with smokers having more pocket depth than tobacco chewers and non-tobacco users and tobacco chewers having more LOA than smokers and non-tobacco users.