The effect of cigarette smoking on dental implants and related surgery

Cigarette smoking is still considered a common habit. Of smokers, increased plaque accumulation, higher incidence of gingivitis and periodontitis, higher rate of tooth loss, and increased resorption of the alveolar ridge have been found in the oral cavity. Cigarette smoking may adversely affect wound healing, and, thus, jeopardize the success of bone grafting and dental implantation. Bone grafts and sinus lift operations are both common and well-documented procedures before dental implant placement. Heat as well as toxic by-products of cigarette smoking, such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide, have been implicated as risk factors for impaired healing, and, thus, may affect the success and complications of those surgical procedures. An association among dental implants, grafting procedures (i.e., bone grafts, maxillary sinuses augmentation), and history of smoking has been reported. A higher degree of complication, or implant failure rates, were found in smokers with and without bone grafts. The relationship between cigarette smoking and implant-related surgical procedures, including the incidence of complications associated with these procedures, will be described and discussed based on relevant literature and results of our recent studies.