Assessment of periodontal status in smokeless tobacco chewers and nonchewers among industrial workers in North Bengaluru

Abstract

Introduction: More than one-third of the tobacco consumed in India is of smokeless form. While the smokeless tobacco (ST) products have been strongly associated with oral cancer, the association between ST and periodontal disease is less clear. The present study was conducted on industrial workers because in premises, there is a ban on smoking tobacco and hence workers tend to consume more of ST products. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess periodontal status in ST chewers and nonchewers among industrial workers in North Bengaluru. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 800 industrial workers (400 ST chewers and 400 nonchewers) of North Bengaluru. Information regarding ST habits was obtained using the Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaire, followed by clinical examination to assess periodontal status using the community periodontal index and attachment loss. The comparison between chewers and nonchewers was done using Pearson's Chi-square test. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the difference of periodontal status and loss of attachment (LOA) between chewers and nonchewers. Results: ST chewing habit was observed the maximum (46.5%) among age group 25–44 years. Most of male chewers had habit of chewing gutkha followed by khaini, and majority of the female chewers were using khaini followed by betel nut quid. A significantly higher prevalence of bleeding on probing and calculus was found among nonchewers. ST chewers had 2.06 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.75) times more risk of developing periodontal pockets and 2.23 (95% CI: 1.68–2.98) times more risk of having LOA when compared with nonchewers. Conclusions: ST has deleterious effects on the periodontium. Hence, it is one of the important risk factors for periodontal disease.

Keywords

• Periodontal disease
• risk factor
• smokeless tobacco