Smoking, chronic periodontitis and smoking cessation support: reviewing the role of dental professionals.

Smoking is one of the main modifiable risk factors for chronic periodontitis. Smokers tend to have poorer periodontal health and a poor response to periodontal treatment, showing approximately half as much improvement following surgical or non-surgical therapy. In light of the current health target ("Better help for smokers to quit"), the purpose of this article is to review the role of dental professionals in providing smoking cessation support, and to review the literature associated with the aetiology of chronic periodontitis, specifically on the impact that smoking cessation has on periodontal health and treatment outcomes. The current New Zealand Smoking Cessation Guidelines state that "all people who smoke, regardless of whether they express a desire to want to stop or not, should be advised to stop smoking." Although there are only limited data from long-term clinical studies to demonstrate the benefit of smoking cessation for periodontal treatment outcomes, the evidence does indicate that smoking cessation improves periodontal health. Smoking cessation support provided by dental professionals could therefore be pivotal in improving periodontal health and the outcome of periodontal treatment.