Tobacco Habits and Oral Health Status in Selected Indian Population

Abstract

SUMMARYThis cross-sectional study was aimed at possible relationships between tobacco habits and selected behavior characteristics in an adult sample from India. Contemporaneous clinical examination comprised an intra-oral examination with specific emphasise to dental caries status in the form of DMFT (Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth) index. The study comprised 805 subjects in the age group from 30 to 69 years (72% of males and 28% of females). The participants were divided into regular smokers, occasional smokers, ex-smokers, tobacco chewers and non-tobacco users. The highest prevalence of oral mucosal lesions were found in tobacco chewers (22.7 %) followed by regular smokers (12.9 %), occasional smokers (8.6%), ex-smokers (5.1%) and non tobacco users (2.8%) (p < 0.001). The mean number of decayed teeth was highest in tobacco chewers (6.96) followed by regular smokers (6.44) and ex-smokers (5.5) (p < 0.001). The mean number of missing teeth was highest in the group of regular smokers (1.9) and lowest in non-tobacco users (1.53), but the results were not statistically significant (p = 0.529). The mean number of filled teeth were highest in the group of tobacco chewers (3.67) followed by regular smokers (3.29) (p < 0.001). DMFT value of tobacco chewers, regular smokers and ex-smokers is higher when compared to non-tobacco users (p < 0.001). The study documents that chewing tobacco and smoking can present significant risk factors for dental caries. However, the conclusions are burdened by some limitations. Further studies for investigation of the effect of tobacco using on dental caries are needed.

Pattern and prevalence of tobacco use and associated oral mucosal lesions: a hospital based cross sectional study at a tertiary care hospital in central India

“…Male predominance seen in this study was in accordance with other studies. 12,13 The prevalence of tobacco use in females (24.19%) was similar to the findings of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), conducted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2010),which reported that 20.3 percent of females -15 years and above -consume tobacco in some form or the other. 5 Tobacco consumption among females was mostly in the form of smokeless tobacco which was in accordance with many studies but contrary to the study by Sinha, Gupta and Pednekar 14 which reported 21.7% females were smokeless tobacco users and 23.4% were smokers.…”

Association of smoking and snuffing with dental caries occurrence in a young male population in Finland: A cross-sectional study

“…In previous decades (1983 and 1993) similar findings to ours were seen in their cross-sectional studies; dental caries experiences being significantly lower among snuffers than among other groups. Neither are these results in accord with a study from India where caries occurrence was the highest among the tobacco chewers followed by regular smokers and ex-smokers [25]. It is good to keep in mind that smokeless tobacco products differ from one side of the world to another, which means that the results are not directly comparable.…”

“…In the present study and in the study by Hugoson et al [10], snuff made in Sweden was used. Also the sizes of study populations vary; in this study the study population is considerably bigger than in the studies by Hugoson et al [10] and Vellappally [25]. The study groups aren't directly comparable as to the age of the participants, either.…”

Self-reported Oral Health Behaviour among Scandinavian and Polish Medical Students Studying in Poland

“…Unfortunately, according to the WHO data they smoke at the same rate as the general Polish population (23), which is particularly surprising as medical university curriculum covers smoking hazards and tobacco depending diseases. Moreover, smoking can present significant risk factors for dental caries (24). The overall prevalence of smoking rate among medical students in other countries was lower and ranged from 3.3% in Canada to 19.3% in Turkey (25,26).…”