Study Emphasizes the Need to Evaluate the Role of Smoking Habits and Cessation on Peri-Implant Health Status

Lack of clinical data illustrates the need for focused studies assessing the role of both smoking habit and cessation on peri-implant health status and responsiveness to treatment, according to a recent publication in Dentistry Journal.

Researchers conducted a systematic review designed to evaluate the effect of smoking cessation on clinical, radiographic, and gingival crevicular periodontal parameters around natural teeth and dental implants in ex-smokers compared to non-smokers and current smokers.

The study protocol was established centred on the PRISMA guidelines, the research question was devised according to the PICO model ( population, intervention, comparison and outcome), and the literature search was conducted through PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane library, and BioMed Central databases.

From the 916 title/abstracts initially identified, seven articles were included in the present systematic review and assessed for quality through the ROBINS-I tool, a risk of bias tool to evaluate non-randomized studies of interventions.

The seven studies included in the systematic review only evaluated the periodontal state around natural teeth after periodontal treatment, while none of the studies included the state around implants which suggests the need for extensive further research, particularly considering that very little evidence is currently available on the role of smoking habit on peri-implant tissue health.

The authors noted that reported findings on clinical and crevicular periodontal parameters around natural teeth were conflicting when comparing ex-smokers to current and non-smokers; therefore, individualized recommendations for previous smoker periodontal patients are currently lacking.

No data on radiographic parameters or periodontal parameters around dental implants were retrieved as well, therefore stressing the need for more investigations.

The authors concluded, “Further investigation should point out the role of smoking cessation on periodontally healthy subjects, as well as on those suffering from periodontitis, aiding in periodontal treatment planning in active and, above all, maintenance phases.”

They also noted that since, no data were retrieved regarding periodontal parameters around dental implants, there is a necessity for focused analyses evaluating the role of both smoking habit and cessation on peri-implant health status and responsiveness to treatment.

Reference

Caggiano M, Gasparro R, D'Ambrosio F, Pisano M, Di Palo MP, Contaldo M. Smoking Cessation on Periodontal and Peri-Implant Health Status: A Systematic Review. Dent J (Basel). 2022 Aug 31;10(9):162. doi: 10.3390/dj10090162