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Periodontitis Cigarette Smoking

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Cigarette smoking not only has a negative effect on respiratory and cardiovascular health, but also has been associated with diabetes, gastrointestinal and thyroid diseases, and almost every other organ system in the body (Johnson & Guthmiller, 2007). Linked to various cancers, smoking is extremely detrimental (Johnson & Guthmiller, 2007). Smoking is also “the major risk factor for periodontitis” (Preshaw et al, 2015). While increasing the prevalence of periodontitis, smoking also has a profound effect on the severity of periodontal disease in individuals (Preshaw et al, 2015). The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) in 2000 found that “41.9% of periodontitis cases in the United States were attributable to current cigarette smoking” (Tomar & Asma, 2000). Smokers have a four times greater chance to be diagnosed with periodontitis (Johnson & Guthmiller, 2007). Indeed, patients who are smokers also do not appear to respond as favourably to periodontal treatment and show a greater risk of refractory and/or recurrent periodontal disease (Fardal, 2008). Multiple studies show that smoking has the potential to alter numerous processes in the oral cavity (Preshaw et al, 2015). Most notably, smoking has been shown to modify various aspects of physiology in patients, impair immunological response and alter the microflora of the oral cavity (Presahaw et al, 2015). …show more content…

Numerous studies have found that smoking leads to a compromise in the microcirculation of the gingiva by causing a “sustained peripheral vasoconstriction caused by chronic low doses of nicotine” (Heasman et al,

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