Smoking in adolescence as a predictor of early loss of periodontal attachment

Objectives: On the basis of information from studies of older adults, smoki ng is considered to be an important risk factor for periodontal disease. Ex amining periodontal loss of attachment among younger adults means a lower c ontribution from cumulative exposure to other environmental risk factors. T he aim of this study was to examine the role of chronic exposure to cigaret te smoking as a risk factor for greater prevalence and extent of periodonta l loss of attachment among 26-year-old participants in a longstanding prosp ective cohort study. Methods: Loss of attachment (LOA) was measured at thre e sites per tooth in two randomly selected contralateral quadrants tone upp er, one lower). Cigarette smoking history was obtained at ages 15, 18, 21 a nd 26, and used to categorise participants as "never-smokers", "ever-smoker s", "long-term smokers" or "very longterm smokers". Results: Periodontal da ta were available for 914 Study members, among whom the prevalence of LOA o f 4+mm was 19.4%. Among those who smoked at ages 15, 18, 21 and 26, it was 33.6%, and, after controlling for sex, self-care and dental visiting, they were nearly three times as Likely to have one or more sites with 4+mm LOA. Conclusions: Chronic exposure to smoking is a strong predictor of periodont al disease prevalence in young adults.