Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of smoking that promotes chronic periodontitis from the perspective of gingival microcirculation. METHODS: In experiment one, upper anterior teeth (n=102) from smokers with chronic periodontitis (Group A), nonsmokers with chronic periodontitis (Group B), and nonsmokers with healthy periodontal conditions (Group C) were selected to undergo gingival blood flow (GBF) through laser doppler flowmetry. In experiment two, the tissues obtained from gums during periodontal flap surgery were divided into smoking (Group A') and nonsmoking (Group B') groups, and the gingival tissue obtained from periodontal healthy nonsmokers treated with crown lengthening surgery or impacted wisdom tooth extraction served as the control group (Group C'). The microvessels density (MVD) of the gingival tissue from the three groups was determined in the tissue sections. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Compared with group C, GBF of all teeth increased in group B, and there were significant differences among 12, 21 and 23 teeth. MVD significantly differed between Group B' and C' (P<0.05), but they did not significantly differ between Group A' and B'. CONCLUSIONS: Periodontitis can increase GBF and MVD, but smoking does not cause significant changes. However, the mechanism by which smoking promotes the occurrence and development of chronic periodontitis by influencing gingival microcirculation has not been discussed in this research.