Relationship Between Smoking and Bleeding on Probing

The objective of this study was to assess and compare bone loss (BL) around the dental implant platform as well as the presence of bacterial plaque (PBP), bleeding on probing (BOP), and periodontal probing depths (PD) of teeth and dental implants of smokers and nonsmokers. Three hundred forty-seven teeth and 98 implants of 20 randomly selected patients were assessed (12 smokers and 8 nonsmokers). The specimens were divided into 4 groups according to the site probed. Group 1 included smoker implant sites, group 2 included smoker tooth sites, group 3 included nonsmoker implant sites, and group 4 included nonsmoker tooth sites. The presence/absence of visible bacterial plaque, presence/absence of BOP, PD ≤ 3 mm or >3 mm, and BL around the dental implant platform were the data assessed. The PBP and BL showed statistical significance between smokers and nonsmokers. Bleeding on probing and PD ≤ 3 mm showed statistical significance between groups 1, 3, and 4. Comparing sites with BOP and PD > 3 mm, there was no statistical significance except for group 1, which did not present sites with these characteristics. Comparing sites with BOP and PD ≤ 3 mm, there was statistical significance between group 2 and groups 3 and 4. When comparing the prevalence of sites without BOP and PD > 3 mm, there was statistical significance between groups 1, 3, and 4. Smoking promotes a greater BL around the dental implant platform and results in vasoconstriction of the peri-implant and periodontal tissues.