DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2017.v05i11.009

Pages: 820-830

Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease. There are different risk factors for periodontal disease. Amongst them tobacco smoking is a well established risk factor. Chronic exposure to tobacco and it’s by products significantly affects the prevalence and progression of periodontal diseases. Smoking is an established and modifiable risk factor for periodontitis. Cotinine, the major proximate metabolite of nicotine, widely used as a biomarker of tobacco exposure. The purpose of this study was to assess salivary cotinine levels` in smokers and non-smokers with chronic periodontitis and also to assess the level of nicotine dependence in smokers. In this cross sectional study a total of 90 male patients with a age group of 30-60 years with chronic periodontitis were selected for the study. The patients were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 45 patients (non-smokers) and Group B consisted of 45 patients (smokers). The salivary cotinine levels were assessed by collecting salivary samples of all the patients using ELISA. There was a statistically significant difference in PPD (5.6, 4.3mm), CAL (5.3, 4.2mm), GI (0.86, 1.4) and GBI (8%, 43%) values between smokers and non smoker groups respectively. But the plaque index showed no statistically significant difference between smokers and non-smokers (1.4, 1.4). Salivary cotinine levels were significantly higher in smokers group than in non-smokers (42.31, 4.65pg/ml). The overall PPD, CAL was positively correlated with the overall cotinine levels but overall GI, GBI values were negatively correlated. The plaque index values were not significantly correlated. Fagerstrom index for nicotine dependence has showed a positive correlation with the salivary cotinine values in smokers. The increased levels of salivary cotinine have a strong association for increased severity for chronic periodontitis in smokers compared to non-smokers.