© 2010 Nwhator et al, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd. This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine 2010:1 45–51 Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine Dovepress submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com Dovepress 45 ORigiNAL ReseARch open access to scientific and medical research Open Access Full Text Article DOI: 10.2147/RRTM.S13698 Awareness of link between smoking and periodontal disease in Nigeria: a comparative study solomon O Nwhator 1 Patricia O Ayanbadejo 2 Modupe O Arowojolu 3 Osagie Akhionbare 4 Adeleke O Oginni 5 1 Department of Preventive and community Dentistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, ile-ife; 2 Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Lagos, 3 Dental school University college hospital ibadan, 4 Department of Periodontics, school of Dentistry, college of Medi cal sciences, University of Benin, Benin city; 5 Department of Restorative Dentistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, ile-ife, Nigeria correspondence: solomon O Nwhator Department of Preventive and community Dentistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, ile-ife, Nigeria Tel +44 794 325 0080 email nwhator32@yahoo.com Objectives: To investigate Nigerians’ awareness of the link between smoking and periodontal disease, and to compare our study findings with those of a similar UK study. Design: The subjects, consisting of 992 adults, completed anonymous questionnaires. These subjects included patients and their escorts attending dental clinics located in four teaching hospitals in southwestern Nigeria. The teaching hospitals included the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, University College Hospital Ibadan, and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Results: Smoking was considered dangerous to health by 96% of subjects, while 91% believed that it negatively impacted on oral health. Of those who believed smoking impacted negatively on oral health, 44% could not state how. Seventy percent of those who stated how smoking affects oral health associated smoking with dental stains and 12% associated it with halitosis, while 11% identified smoking as a causative agent of oral cancer. Only 20 subjects specifically stated that smoking affected the gums. This figure represents 2.2% of the total number of subjects, 2.4% of subjects who believed that smoking negatively impacted oral health, and 4.4% of subjects who could state a specific association between smoking and oral health. Male gender, nonsmoking status, and higher educational level were significantly associated with the level of awareness of negative effects of smoking on oral health. Ethnicity, number of previous dental visits, and reason for quitting had no impact on level of awareness. Conclusions: This study found that the level of awareness of a link between smoking and periodontal disease is extremely low among Nigerians (2.2%). The findings closely resemble those of the UK study although, expectedly, the level of awareness is much higher in the UK. Keywords: smoking, awareness, periodontal diseases, Nigeria, United Kingdom Background The introduction to the UK study 1 replicated by the current research cited a comment in a World Health Organisation report that “diseases such as periodontitis are a global health issue in both industrialized and developing countries”, making such a study imperative in Nigeria, which enjoys a close relationship with the UK. It is against this backdrop that the authors decided to replicate the UK study, with a few modifications aimed at achieving two basic objectives, ie, to provide baseline data for Nigeria and to compare the findings in Nigeria with those obtained in the UK. The level of awareness of a link between smoking and periodontitis in the UK, a country with a very long history of good dental care, was found to be low. This is both challenging and disturbing because, unlike the English, most Nigerians never visit the dentist except for the relief of toothache. Although the findings of the current study Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine downloaded from https://www.dovepress.com/ by 54.70.40.11 on 13-Dec-2018 For personal use only. 1 / 1