Association of Tobacco Habits With Severity of Gingivitis Among 18-35-Year-Old's Attending A Private Dental College In Chennai - A Retrospective Study

Gingivitis is a reversible periodontal disease which does not destruct the supporting tissues. Studies have shown the relationship of smoking with gingivitis. There is no solid evidence of the same parameters in the Chennai area. Therefore, the focus of the current study is to find the interrelation between tobacco habit with the severity of gingivitis among 18-35-year-old adults attending a private college in Chennai.This retrospective study included all gingivitis index recorded patients in the age of 18-35-year-old adults. The data was obtained from the patient records in the college from June 2019 to March 2020 and examined by 2 examiners. Gingival index (1967) was used to measure the severity of the gingivitis. Descriptive statistics were expressed by means of frequency and percentage, chi-square was done to assess the association between age, tobacco use and gingivitis. Pearson correlation tests were done to identify the relationship of tobacco use and severity of gingivitis. In the present study with a sample size of 997, 62.19% males and 37.81% females were present. Prevalence of tobacco users in the study population was 25.77%. 52.66% had mild gingivitis, 40.92% had moderate and 6.42% had severe gingivitis. A significant positive correlation was observed between tobacco use and severity of gingivitis using Pearson correlation statistical test. With the results of the current study, it can be presumed that the severity of gingivitis was found to be more among tobacco users.