Background: Peri-implant infections occur in response to pathogenic bacterial flora in addition to release of inflammatory markers similarly to periodontal infection, but faster and more intensely. As the smoking is a critical modifying factor for periodontal disease intensity ,it can also be considered as a risk factor of periimplantitis.
Subjects and methods: Fourteen participants with endo-osseous root form implant; seven of them are non smokers (group 1) and the other seven are smokers (group 2).Clinical parameters as plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and probing pocket depth (PPD) are recorded for each participant and also periimplant crevicular fluid (PICF) samples are collected from all participants to biochemically investigate levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
Results: Clinical parameters as plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and probing pocket depth (PPD) were higher in smoker group compared to non smoker group .however, The VEGF levels in PICF were higher in the non smoker group compared to the smoker group.
Conclusion: VEGF is not a highly sensitive pathogenesis maker and can not be used alone to predict periimplantitis.