Authors : Vinay Mohan; Manesh Lahori; Anjana Bagewadi; Sonal Gupta; Satendra Sharma; Mahima Tyagi
Volume/Issue : Volume 6 - 2021, Issue 9 - September
Google Scholar : http://bitly.ws/gu88
Scribd : https://bit.ly/3aNC8KV
The present study was undertaken to evaluate oral
microbial flora in samples from three different sites that
is dental plaque, saliva and tongue smear in smokers and
compare the results with equal number of age matched
non-smokers.
Materials and Methods
This case-control study comprised of 35 subjects
with history of tobacco smoking and equal number of
age matched non-smokers, with age range between 20 to
30 years. All the subjects included were male patients as
smoking in this geographic region is more prevalent in
males. The samples from subjects were taken by aseptic
method from three different oral sites and take to the
laboratory, to assess the microbial count.
Results
The culture reports of samples of the study subjects
clearly indicated a higher amount of mean value of
microbial flora count that is 5.64 X 105 C.F.U. / ml as
compared to that of control subjects which was 4.77 X
105 C.F.U. / ml. The salivary samples of smokers and
non-smokers showed a p value less then 0.05, with
respect to Moraxella catarrhalis and Corynebacteria,
which was statistically significant using Wilcoxon rank
test.
Conclusion
The study shows that there is a definite increase in
the amount of microbial flora in tobacco smokers as
compared to non-smokers. These increased microbes
may ultimately increase the chances for oral diseases and
impaired wound healing thus affecting the treatment
outcome of oral health.
Keywords : Oral Microbial Flora, Tobacco Smoking, Oral Health.