Chronic marginal stress and periodontitis

Objectives. The aim of our study was to evaluate salivary cortisol levels and the scores of nicotinic social dependence, as markers of stress, in a group of patients with moderate and profound chronic periodontitis but systemically healthy. Material and method. Our study, of pretreatment cross-sectional design, included 28 adult patients with moderate and severe chronic marginal periodontitis and no systemic diseases. They were recruited from a particular clinic in Bucharest. The questionnaire used gathered questions from the Kano test to assess nicotine dependence. The salivary cortisol was determined using a DSNOV20 kit (NovaTec Immundiagnostica GmbH). Results and discussions. The average Kano total score was 13.28 (+ 4.38; range 4-23). The smoker group recorded an average of 16.2 (range 11-23). There were no statistically significant differences between the scores of the three groups. From the 28 patients who completed the questionnaires, 22 were evaluated for salivary cortisol levels. Of these, 3 were smokers, 6 were former smokers and 13 were non-smokers. The mean salivary cortisol level was 6.65 ng/ml (+ 1.47; range 4.12-9.38). The mean salivary cortisol level was higher in smokers compared to non-smokers and ex-smokers (p> 0.05). Conclusions. Stress, expressed by the average level of salivary cortisol, was higher among smokers compared to the other groups, the highest variability being registered among ex-smokers. In patients with moderate and severe chronic marginal periodontitis, there was a positive, albeit insignificant, association between salivary cortisol levels and nicotinic psychological dependence.