Smoking and its relation to caries experience and salivary lactobacilli count

Abstract

Background: Smoking has many harmful effects on the body. The aim of this studyis to investigate the effect of cigarettes smoking on count of lactobacilli ,the dental caries, and salivary factors.Subjects and Methods: 15 male smokers and 15 male non-smokers aged(24-29) years were chosen from post graduate students in College of Dentistry, they were interviewed about smoking behavior.Stimulated salivary sample was analyzed for lactobacilli count ,salivary flow rate and salivary pH was determined.Results: Measurment of dental caries was expressed by DMFT/DMFS.Results There was a significant relation between lactobacilli and DMFT/DMFS in smokers group with no significant differences concerning salivary flow rate and salivary pH between the two groups .Conclusion: Long term use of tobacco smoking affect the dental caries but not the salivary flow rate or salivary pH