Clinical comparison of treatment response patterns following non-surgical periodontal therapy in non-smokers and passive smokers with chronic periodontitis

Background and aims. Smoking is a risk factor for periodontal disease. It has been documented that smoking impairs response to periodontal therapy. The aim of this study was clinical comparison of treatment response patterns following non-surgical periodontal therapy in non-smokers (NS) and passive smokers (PS) with chronic periodontitis.Materials and methods. Eighty adult patients (40 NS and 40 PS) with mild to moderate periodontitis were treated with full-mouth subgingival scaling and root planing. Clinical parameters evaluated included probing depth, clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing, and plaque index, collected at baseline, and at 3- and 6-month intervals.Results. In comparison with the baseline data, both groups showed statistically significant improvements in all the parameters after 3 and 6 months. Full-mouth plaque and bleeding scores at 6 months did not demonstrate any significant differences between the two groups (P = 0.65). However, the inter-group differences after 6 months were statistically significant with regard to probing depth and clinical attachment level measurements (P = 0.001 and P < 0.0005, respectively).Conclusion. Results demonstrated that response to non-surgical periodontal therapy in non-smokers is better than that in passive smokers.