Cigarette smoking and dental implant tooth replacement therapy: A questionnaire survey among patients receiving implant prosthetic treatment

Chronic nicotinism has negative effects, both local and systemic. Its local effects are related to both the immediate thermal influence, as well as the toxic action of the substances contained in the smoke. In addition, the microflora colonizing dental plague is changed. The damage and the inflammatory processes that are incurred, affect the bone tissue of the alveolar processes, the mucosa, gums, and the tooth enamel. In this study, the tobacco smoking-related profile of patients being treated by way of implants was determined. Moreover, the relationship between cigarette smoking and pain sensation was assessed in patients undergoing surgical and prosthetic procedures in the oral cavity. The questionnaire survey covered 464 patients receiving prosthetic treatment at the “Dental” Non-Public Health Care Centre in Tomaszow Mazowiecki. The patients answered questions concerning their sex, age, the period of smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per day and the sensation of pain during bone reconstruction, implant placement and prosthetic procedures. The most numerous group of patients treated with implants were women: either non-smoking or smoking for less than 20 years at a level of less than 20 cigarettes a day, and men aged 40-60 years who have been smoking for over 20 years, at more than 20 cigarettes a day. The results of the survey reveal that non-smoking patients felt pain during bone reconstruction, implant placement and prosthetic procedures more frequently.