Smoking and Dental Stain among Fifth Grade Dental Students, University of Baghdad

Background Smoking is the largest preventable risk factor for morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Smoking has many effects on the body like lung cancer, oral cancer, heart disease, and stroke typically do not occur until years. Smoking also has many effects on oral cavity, one of these effects is teeth staining or called (smoking stain). Aims of the study To compare occurrence of dental stain between smokers and nonsmokers, among dental students, and to explore the relation between duration of, number of cigarettes smoking and the type of dental stain. Materials and Methods The sample collected was 40 males (23 years old), 5th grade dental students university of Baghdad, divided into two groups 20 smokers and 20 control. All teeth of the students were examined for the presence of dental stain, distribution of that stain and the color of the stain according to Leung (1950). Results The percentage of dental stain was 90 % among smokers, while it is 65 % among non-smokers. The brown dental stain was the comments type among both groups, followed by the yellow stain, while none was seen with the green and orange stain. Results demonstrated that the duration of smoking and the numbers of cigarettes smoked did not affect dental stain. Conclusion Smoking may have an influence on extrinsic dental stain.