Cigarette Smoking and Alveolar Bone in Young Adults: A Study Using Digitized Radiographs

Background: Evidence indicates that cigarette smoking is one of the most significant risk factors for periodontal diseases; however, there have been few radiographic prospective studies of alveolar bone in young populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on alveolar bone in young adults. Methods: Eighty‐one dental students (mean age: 20.5 years), considered not to have periodontitis according to clinical criteria, participated in this study. Forty‐two subjects were smokers (mean consumption was 14.1 cigarettes/day for ≥2 years), and 39 subjects had never smoked. A parallel‐arm prospective design was used. All subjects took part in a dental hygiene program (DHP) that included oral hygiene instructions, mechanical debridement, and polishing. The following clinical variables were measured before and after the DHP: plaque index (PI), gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) flow rate, gingival index (GI), probing depth, and clinical attachment level (CAL). Standardized posterior vertical bitewing radiographs were taken and digitized preexperimentally and on days 180, 365, and 545. The following analyses were performed: bone height measurement (BHM), computer‐assisted densitometric image analysis (CADIA), and qualitative analysis of digital subtraction radiography (DSR). Repeated‐measures multiple‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed between the groups, and one‐way ANOVA was performed within the groups. Results: The mean PI and GI were significantly greater in the smokers (P