The awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco smoking on
many organs and tissues in the body has gradually increased
in the general population and bans on smoking in public
places are becoming more and more common in many
countries. In dentistry the harmfulness of smoking, surprisingly,
has gained only limited concern. In spite of the fact that
there is substantial knowledge to verify the effects of smoking
on oral tissues, dental care in general has devoted very little
time and effort to the information about these untoward
effects. One reason for this negligence may be that the effects
of smoking on oral and, in particular, periodontal health are
insufficiently appreciated or underestimated.
Although the first reports on smoking and its potential
effects on periodontal health emanate from the early 1950s, a
more thorough understanding or acceptance of smoking as a
periodontal health risk began with the appearance of 3
independent publications in 1983.Since then, a gradually
increasing interest in the relationship between smoking and
the periodontal health condition has emerged. Over the past
10 to 15 years smoking has gained scientific acceptance as an
important risk factor for destructive periodontal disease. In
addition, the potential interference of smoking with the
outcome of various periodontal therapies has been addressed
in a number of investigations.
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