Changed Smoking Habits of Patients Treated by Dental Hygiene Students

Smoking is a risk factor for periodontal diseases & it compromises treatment response. Deleterious effects are dose related. Objectives: to examine changes in smoking habits amongst smokers with periodontitis treated in a London Teaching Hospital by 22 dental hygiene students that had received training to provide smoking cessation advice &support. Methods: Smoking records were kept for all smokers treated by the cohort of students after training. Smoking cessation advice was an integral part of periodontal therapy.Results: 103 smokers were seen over the 9 month study period. 56% were female; mean age 44(SD9)yrs. 58% were undergoing initial dental hygiene treatment, the others were transferred from other students or were in the maintenance phase. 80% had at least some sites with severe attachment loss & this was generalised for 20%. Hygiene therapy was for a mean of 3.8 appointments (SD2.5,range 1-18) over a mean of 3.8mths (SD2.9, range 0-9). Mean cigarettes/day was 13.2 (SD7.5) at entry, reducing to 10.8 (SD8.5) by the last hygiene appointment. 12 patients had stopped smoking & 43% of patients had reduced smoking frequency compared with the initial appointment. The patients have been offered follow-up care that includes breath monitoring (piCO, Bedfont) to validate claims. Conclusions:The proportion of periodontal patients quitting smoking is comparable with other reported cessation programmes & confirms that dental hygiene students can be effective in encouraging cessation following skills training.