Smoking is one of the most relevant risk factors for many diseases, including periodontal diseases. These periodontal pathologies result from the action of host defenses and from microbial virulence factors on a susceptible host. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of periodontopathogens in healthy individuals and in patients with periodontal disease. Both smoking and non-smoking patients were included. The number of bacteria that produce sulfur compounds in subgengival plaque samples of smokers and non smokers with different clinical conditions was also assessed. One hundred and eighty-nine patients were clinically and radiographically examined. The sample included patients with periodontal disease and healthy individuals. Sixty subjects were selected for microbiological evaluation. The isolation of periodontopathogens was carried out according to the methodology described by SLOTS35 (1982). The identification of the isolates was performed through biochemical tests. The isolation of black pigmented Bacteroides, Fusobacterium nucleatum and hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria was similar in smokers and non-smokers and higher among periodontal patients than among healthy subjects. However, the frequency of isolation of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in smokers with no periodontal pathologies was higher than in healthy individuals who do not use tobacco.
Tobacco; Bacteria; Periodontal disease; Microbiology
