Amelia Surdu, Irina-Georgeta Sufaru, Maria Alexandra Martu, Monica Mihaela Scutariu
ABSTRACT
The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the effect of smoking on the prevalence of periodontal bacteria in the 15- to 16-year-old patients. The study hypothesis was that smoking increases the prevalence of the analyzed bacteria. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 54 subjects who were15- to 16-year-old boys and girls. 25 subjects were non-smokers, 2 were former smokers and 27 were current smokers. Before the clinical examination, the participants filled in a structured questionnaire recording their general health and health habits, such as smoking, tooth brushing frequency, and use of medication. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was used to detect the periodontal bacteria A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, P. intermedia, P. nigrescens, and T. denticola with specific primers. In all subjects, the periodontal bacteria P. nigrescens, P. intermedia, T. forsythia, and T. denticola were more frequently detected among the smokers than nonsmokers. When the smokers and non-smokers were compared, no differences were found among the boys in the prevalence of any bacteria, but the female smokers had higher prevalence of P. nigrescens, P. intermedia, T. forsythia, and T. denticola than non-smokers. Smokers of both genders were more likely to have bleeding on probing, subgingival calculus, and deep periodontal pockets than the non-smokers. This result emphasizes the harmful effect of smoking on oral health already in adolescence.