EFFECT OF VARIOUS FORMS OF NICOTINE CONSUMPTION ON GINGIVAL HEALTH OF DENTAL PATIENTS

Background: Global market size of nicotine consumption has reached US$22.45 billion that will increase more in future posing burden on both economy and health status of population. Objective of this study was to investigate effect of nicotine on gingival health. Methods: This study was conducted at School of Dentistry, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad from 3 Feb 2023 to 4 Mar 2024. Total 300 nicotine consumer dental patients were included, i.e., Smoke-Form (S-form), Electronic cigarette-Form (E-form), and Dual-Form (D-form) users whose Gingival Index (GI) was calculated occurrence of severe gingival issues in participants. GI 0.5-1.0 was labelled as light gingival inflammation, GI 1.1-2.0 as moderate gingival inflammation and GI>2.0 as severe gingival inflammation. Chi-square test checked association of mode of nicotine usage and development of GI, and p?0.05 was considered significant. Results: One-hundred and fifty-seven (52.3%) patients aged 21-30 years were D-form users compared to 97 (32.3%) middle-aged (31-40 years) and 46 (15.3%) ultra-middle-aged (?41) participants. Chi-square test revealed that 128 (98.5%) D-form users developed severe gingivitis after 3 months, 91 (95.8%) E-form users had severe gingivitis after 6 months, and 74 (98.7%) S-form users revealed severe gingival issues after 9 months (p=0.012). Conclusion: Dual usage of nicotine has more detrimental impact on gingival health, followed by E-form and S-form nicotine users. General awareness programs are necessary in order to educate people regarding hazardous effects of nicotine consumption in any form. Pak J Physiol 2025;21(2):21-24, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v21i2.1811