Effect of cigarette smoking on periodontal healing following surgical therapy.

The influence of cigarette smoking on the outcome of surgical therapy was investigated in 54 patients, 24 of whom were smokers. The patients had moderate to severe periodontitis with persisting diseased pockets after non-surgical therapy. The surgical modality used was the modified Widman flap operation and the pockets under scrutiny were those with an initial probing depth of 4-6 mm. Re-examination was made 12 months following the completion of surgery. The probing depth reduction at the 12-month follow-up was 0.76 +/- 0.36 mm (mean +/- SD) in smokers as compared to 1.27 +/- 0.43 mm in non-smokers. The difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.001) and persisted after accounting for plaque. The results suggest that smoking may impair the outcome of surgical therapy.