Epidemiologic patterns of smoking and periodontal disease in the United States.

The adverse effect of smoking on periodontal health has been demonstrated in the analysis of the dental and smoking history data collected from a representative sample of the US population. The association between poorer levels of periodontal health and smoking remained even after accounting for age, sex, race, oral hygiene, socioeconomic status, and frequency of daily toothbrushing variables. When the analysis was restricted to smokers only, no clear-cut association was demonstrated between periodontal disease and the duration of smoking or the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The results of this study suggest that dental practitioners should try to discourage their patients from smoking for reasons of periodontal health as well as general preventive care.