The Relationship Between Oral Health and Tobacco Consumption. A Study of the Inhabitants of La Rioja Alta

José Torres-Remírez & Marta Ibáñez

Summary

Studying the effects of tobacco use (addictive product) on the health of patients continues to be a priority for society. After reading " La Historia Medicinal de las cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales " by Nicolás Monardes, a list of all the benefits attributed to tobacco was made. One of the few that has not been refuted is the use of tobacco for toothache. Therefore, the objective of the study is to relate the consumption of snuff with oral health (caries) to replicate the claim of Monardes. A pilot study with patients who visit the dentist in La Rioja Alta (Spain) was carried out. Permission was sought from the individuals who came to discuss their personal data in the study. Descriptive statistics was used. Eighty-three patients gave their data for the study, with the majority being women (59.13%). The majority are not tobacco consumers; tobacco users are in their entirety daily smokers. The average number of caries of the population is 2.74, being that of smokers 3.90 and that of non-smokers 2.10. The low number of the sample does not allow a study of significance. However, initial results show that smokers have worse oral health, which leads them to have more cavities. This difference is not critical if the study includes other variables (sex, location or age).

KEY WORDS: tobacco, caries, Spain.

How to cite this article

TORRES-REMÍREZ, J. & IBÁÑEZ, M. The relationship between oral health and tobacco consumption. A study of the inhabitants of La Rioja Alta. Int. J. Odontostomat., 14(1):95-100, 2020.