Smoking

Smoking has long been considered a strong risk factor for the development of periodontitis.** Smoking impairs the blood flow to the periodontal tissues, which prevents the body from mounting an effective immune response to periodontal bacteria, and which also inhibits tissue healing after the periodontitis has been treated. A recent study examined the effect of quitting smoking on a group of patients who were to undergo non-surgical treatment of periodontitis. The investigators reported that the patients who had quit smoking had improved healing and improved periodontal pocket probing depths when compared to patients who had not quit smoking.