Correlation between smoking and bleeding on probing

Objectives: Smoking is considered a risk factor for peri-implant disease. However, it iswell known that the presence of nicotine causes vasoconstriction. The objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between smoking and bleeding on probing around dental implants in function.
Methods: The inclusion criteria for the study included: patients treated with implants (Implacil De Bortoli, São Paulo, Brazil) at the University of São Paulo (USP), after a period of up to 14 years of activation. 183 patients rehabilitated with 916 implants were examined. Patients were divided into 2 groups: G1 - non-smokers (n = 826) and; G2 - smokers (n = 90). The statistical test was used generalized estimating equations (GEE).
Results: G1 and G2 showed 48.9% and 57.4% of the implants in at least one point with bleeding on probing respectively. There was no statistical difference (P> 0.05).
Conclusions: Implants in smokers had similar bleeding values ​​compared to implants placed in non-smokers. It should be consider that vasoconstriction caused by nicotine can mask the real bleeding results on probing the inflamed peri-implant tissues.