Over the last few months, with the help of lots of fantastic presentations from the Perio experts, I’ve picked up a few tips that I thought I’d share with you all on Smoking Cessation! What do you think of the Dental Doodle?

• Smoking is the largest single preventable cause of death and disability in the UK.
• It has been shown that brief advice from health professionals and more intensive behavioural support increases a smoker’s chance of quitting (Fiore et al 2000).
• Ask, advice, assess, assist and arrange!
• Concentrate on the advantages of quitting rather than the disadvantages of not quitting (Ramseier 2014).
• The use of the electronic(e)-cigarette has grown over recent years with an estimated 1.3 million ‘vaping’ in the UK in 2012. Battery driven and simulates smoking using a heated element that vaporises chemicals (usually nicotine plus diluents like propylene glycol and glycerine). No published studies on oral (or periodontal) effects yet and so it is difficult to give our patients any official advice on this.

Periodontology