Online published on 25 November, 2013.
Smokeless tobacco [ST] has been found to be associated with tobacco pouch keratosis, leukoplakia and oral cancer. Studies on the periodontal effects of smokeless tobacco are limited. The present study was carried out with an aim to evaluate the periodontal health status of male ST users.
50 patients using smokeless tobacco daily with a unilateral mandibular oral ST keratosis lesion were included. Subjects were evaluated for the number of teeth, ST keratosis lesion, plaque index, gingival index, probing depth (PD), recession depth (RD) and attachment level (AL). Statistical analysis compared ST site mandibular teeth (teeth adjacent to the subjects’ unilateral ST keratosis lesion) to NST site teeth (contralateral corresponding teeth).
Amongst all the periodontal parameters, recession of the ST-site teeth as compared to the NST site teeth was statistically highly significant (p< 0.001). Twice as many teeth had recession on STsite than NST-site. Average buccal RD on ST-site did not differ from that on the NST-site (p=0.22). All the other periodontal parameters were not significant statistically.
The results indicate that greater gingival recession is associated with ST placement site in ST users.
Smokeless tobacco, periodontal disease, gingival recession, attachment level
