Effects on Bacteria in the Plaque Biofilm

A. Types Of Microorganisms Hypothesis. One hypothesis about the role of tobacco Smoking in the development of periodontal diseases is that, when compared with nonsmokers, smokers harbor different types of bacteria in the plaque biofilm.

1. Several studies have shown that smokers harbor more species of microorganisms that are associated with gum disease than non-smokers.

a. One large study found that smokers harbored a significantly higher levels Tannerella forsythia (previously Bacteroides forsythus), Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Porphyromonas gingivalis [32].

B. Another study found that Smoking is a determining factor for the composition of the subgingival microflora in adult patients with periodontitis and can choose for a specific cluster of periodontal pathogens, in particular Tannerella forsythia (previously Bacteroides forsythus), Peptostreptococcus micros and Fusobacterium nucleatum and Campylobacter rectus [33].

c. The third study showed that Staphylococcus aureus, Peptostreptococcus micros, Campylobacter concisus, Escherichia coli, Tannerella forsythia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus are significandy more and more often in smokers [34].

d. Smoking may cause changes in your pocket environment, which can lead to various microflora in smokers. Cigarette Smoking may decrease from oxygen tension in periodontal pockets and can lead to different choices of pathogenic bacteria. 2. No difference species of microorganisms. In contrast, several studies failed to show the differences of the types of bacteria between smokers and non-smokers [37-40]. More research is needed to determine the effects of Smoking on the plaque biofilm...