Tobacco Use and Oral Health Status: A Cross-sectional Study among Commercial Motorcycle Riders in a Suburban Community in Nigeria

Background: This study profiled the tobacco use habits among a vulnerable population, commercial motorcycle riders in Nigeria and assessed the association with their oral health status as a piece of vital information to facilitate the planning of a context-appropriate cessation program for this population. Materials and methods:The study design was cross-sectional analytical.Multistage sampling technique was used to select 255 participants.Oral status was assessed with the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), community periodontal index and treatment needs (CPITN), and gingival index.Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the participants' demographic, riding, and tobacco use behavior.Chi-square test was used to compare oral health status between the current and non-smokers.Multivariable binomial logistic regression was used to assess the oral health status associated with smoking while adjusting for demographic factors.Analysis of data was done using STATA version 17.0/ SE.Statistics were done at p < 0.05 significance level.Results: About 24.7% of the commercial motorcyclists were current smokers.After controlling for age and level of education, commercial motorcyclists who are current smokers are more likely to have worse CPITN scores (aOR = 3.45, p < 0.001), have mild gingivitis (aOR = 3.07, p < 0.01), have poor oral hygiene (aOR = 2.29, p < 0.01), and have extrinsic teeth discoloration (aOR = 6.12, p < 0.001) compared with non-current smokers.Conclusion: Motorcycle riders who currently smoke have worse oral health than those who do not smoke.As a result, smoking cessation interventions should target this population in order to improve their oral health.