40 million cases - smoking is the leading cause of periodontal disease

40 million severe periodontal disease cases worldwide due to smoking

Periodontitis is characterized by extensive impairment of the periodontium apparatus and consequent tooth loss. The causes can be many, but according to a recent study, smoking has a significant share here. Scientists from the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg and the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel calculated the number of worldwide periodontitis cases, which can be traced back to smoking - with terrifying results.

About 40 million severe cases of parodontitis worldwide are caused by smoking, according to the researchers. Tobacco consumption thus accounts for a considerable proportion of the irreversible inflammatory damage of the periodontium. Particularly affected are middle-aged men. Internationally, however, differences in prevalence can be clearly seen, the researchers report. Their study results have them in the trade magazine "
Journal of Clinical Periodontology ".

Irreversible damage and tooth loss

Periodontal disease is a widespread disease that, according to the experts, affects about every second adult. The bacterial chronic inflammation of the tooth bed can lead to irreversible damage and those affected lose their teeth, explains the research team to private lecturer. Falk Schwendicke from the department for tooth preservation and preventive dentistry at the Berlin Charité.

Ten percent of cases in Germany caused by smoking

In their latest study, scientists have analyzed how many of the severe periodontal events around the world are caused by smoking. They came to a figure of 40 million sufferers. According to the researchers' calculations, especially middle-aged men are increasingly developing periodontitis due to smoking. Internationally, however, there are large variations in frequency. "While around 10 percent of cases of periodontitis in Germany are due to cigarettes, this percentage is significantly lower in Spain, for example, but also in many African countries," says the Charité

Smoking is a key risk factor

Using mathematical models fed with data from a peripheral pool for a total of 186 countries, Drs. Schwendicke, dr. Toni Meier from the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg and Professor Dr. med. Christof Dörfer from the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel. The results make clear that "smoking is a major risk factor for periodontitis - and this correlation seems to be particularly high, especially in young people," Dr. Schwendicke.

Related to other diseases

According to the experts, the fact that periodontitis and smoking are associated with numerous other illnesses is also extremely worrying. "That means: Not smoking and having less periodontal disease is doubly meaningful to prevent a heart attack or stroke," says Dr. med. Schwendicke. The researcher hopes that the current findings will also be used for education and prevention measures in periodontitis. In addition, it makes sense "that doctors and dentists increasingly combat smoking as a common risk factor for various diseases." (Fp)