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Smoking Does Not Increase Risk Of Receding Gums

Smokers are not at higher risk of developing receding gums than are non-smokers.

Present data do not support the hypothesis that smokers are at greater risk, say researchers in Heidelberg, Koblenz and Münster, Germany.

The researchers noted that smoking is a major risk factor for destructive periodontal disease. There was only limited information, however, about how smoking affected people with minimal periodontal destruction.

To assess the development of gingival recession, the researchers made four assessments over six months of clinical periodontal conditions in 61 systemically healthy volunteers aged 19-30 years. Of these, 30 smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day and 31 did not smoke.

At the outset, about half of both groups had receding gums at one or more sites.

There was severe gum recession of more than two millimetres in more than three times as many non-smokers (23 percent) as among smokers (7 percent). Further gum recession developed during the study.

The risk of recession did not seem to be influenced by smoking status once statistical adjustments had been made for various factors. These included periodontal probing depth, recession at baseline, how often the volunteers brushed their teeth, their sex, their tooth type and the site of periodontal disease.

Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2002; 29(2):129-136. "Gingival recession in smokers and non-smokers with minimal periodontal disease"

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