Abstract
Periodontal disease (PD) is characterized by an inflammatory process of the periodontal support tissue, the main etiological factor of which is dental biofilm. PD occurs in its moderate form in 44 to 57 % of adults. In developed countries, 10 % of adults may exhibit advanced periodontitis. The relationship between smoking habits and periodontal conditions has been widely studied, mainly in patients with cardiovascular risks. Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of smoking in the clinical presentation of periodontal disease in patients with cardiovascular risk. Methods: Methods: This study followed a retrospective observational and case-control model (STROBE), with ethical approval from the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Patients and controls were obtained in database of a dental surgeon in the periodontics area who has been attending cases in the last 35 years. This study was conducted using data collected from 1975-2009, involving 106 patients with PD. The occurrence of other cardiovascular risk factors was analyzed. Results: Among the periodontal conditions, significant differences were found between smokers and non-smokers with regard to tartar (p=0.0431), junctional epithelium (p=0.0216), conjunctive tissue (p=0.0015), gingival coloration (p< 0.0001), tooth mobility (p< 0.0001) and bone loss (p=0.0216). The main cardiovascular risk factors in smokers with PD were systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) (28.30%), alcoholism (20.76%), and stress (18.87%), whereas in non-smoker the most frequent included SAH (24.53%), stress (18.87%) and dyslipidemia (16.98%). Conclusion: The clinical examination of smokers and non-smokers with PD demonstrates that clinical characteristics, such as the presence of tartar, epithelium and conjunctive tissue alterations, gingival coloration, tooth mobility and bone loss, are more frequent among smokers. The principal cardiovascular risk factors encountered in smokers with PD are SAH, alcoholism, and stress.