Smokeless Tobacco Consumption and Periodontitis among Medical Students - Khartoum State - 2018

Abstract

Introduction: Smokeless tobacco is a public health problem, it had serious impact not only on oral health but even on the general health. It is a risk factor for many serious diseases. This study aimed to study a relationship between smokeless tobacco use & periodontal health among medical students in Khartoum State during the year 2017. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional institutional based study, used self-administered questionnaires contains a section of questions filled by the participant and the other section of clinical examination filled by well-trained dentist using (Community periodontal index of treatment needs). The sample size was 339 medical student from University of Science and Technology and Al-Neel University Collage, they were selected by stratified simple random technique. Data processed & analyze by computer using statistical analysis using the SPSS version 23. Results: participants’ mean age was from 15 to 24 years old, 56.3% had history of dental visits. Fifteen percent received treatment during last 3 months. Concerning smokeless data, the study found 14.5% of those students were Toombak users, the majority of them were using it for 6-10 times per day and for more than 5 years. Thirty four percent of those students were cigarette smokers, the majority were smoking 6-10 cigarettes per day for 1- 5 years. Most of Toombak users’ students were smoking cigarette. Thirty four percent of participants had chronic periodontitis while the rest did not. There was a significant association between Toombak use had Periodontitis (P value of Chi squire test = 0.011).Also, significantly chronic periodontitis had link with the duration and the frequency of Toombak use (P values of Chi squire test were 0.002 and 0.006). Conclusion: The study showed there is high significant association between Toombak use and Periodontitis, mainly localized type. Recommendations: To raise the students’ awareness regarding the Toombak hazards in many ways with involvement of all relevant stakeholders .