The impact of smoking and diabetes on periodontitis grade: A retrospective cross-sectional observational study

Abstract Background Evaluation of the amount of periodontitis patients whose grade is determined by smoking and/or diabetes. Methods All charts of patients scheduled for active periodontal treatment at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany, Dept. of Periodontology from November 2004 on were screened until data saturation was reached, and 402 charts met the inclusion criteria. Charts were analysed and patients reclassified according to the 2018 classification of periodontal diseases. Grade A/B was also assigned according to Dietrich et al. 2019. Results Four-hundred-two patients (age: 56.9 ± 11.4 years; 208 females; 68 active smokers; 22: 1–9 cigarettes/day; 46: ≥10 cigarettes/day; 29 diabetics, 18: HbA1c < 7%, 11: HbA1c ≥ 7%; 7 stage II, 234 stage III, 161 stage IV, 0 grade A, 179 grade B [Tonetti et al. 2018], 10 grade A, 169 grade B [Dietrich et al. 2019], 223 grade C) contributed 9,318 teeth and 221 dental implants. No heavy smoker (≥ 10 cigarettes/day) suffered from HbA1c ≥ 7%. Generalised stage III periodontitis grade C was exclusively determined by smoking in 7 and by diabetes in 3 cases. Conclusions In this convenience periodontitis sample in generalised stage III periodontitis, grade C was rarely determined exclusively by smoking (7 cases [5%]) or diabetes (3 cases [2%]). Only 10 patients were assigned to different grades according to Dietrich et al. 2019 (2.5%). Trial registration March 11, 2024 registered in the German Register of Clinical Studies (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien: DRKS) DRKS00033633.