Summary

Smoking is one of the risk factor associated with onset, severity and progression of periodontal disease.
Aim : The aim of the study was to examine the smoking behaviour and dental health knowledge of high school students in Riyadh and Belfast.
Materials and Methods : Eight schools from Riyadh and 6 from Belfast were randomly selected by cluster distribution sampling method. Two hundred and ninety students from Riyadh and 144 from Belfast were included giving an overall response rate of 85 %. The age range was between 16-17 years. A questionnaire was used to assess demography, smoking habits, dental health knowledge and oral hygiene practices.
Results : The results showed that 18 % of students were smokers ; 24 % in Belfast and 15 % in Riyadh (x2 (1) = 4.29 : P = 0.04). 24% of students in Belfast and 56 % in Riyadh smoked at least 1 cigarette per day. 61% of students had bleeding gums although 85 % stated that they brushed their teeth at least daily. Bleeding on brushing was common with 53 % of Belfast students compared with 65% from Riyadh. Students in Belfast (2.51 ± 1.15) had significantly higher mean scores for their knowledge about gum health compared with Riyadh students (2.21 ± 1.44) (t = 2.29 : P = 0.02). There was no differences in knowledge about oral health and smoking between the students. However, non-smokers from Belfast and Riyadh (3.32 ± 1.60) had greater knowledge about oral health and smoking than those who smoked (2.81 ± 1.45) (t = 2.73 : P = 0.007). There was no difference in knowledge about gum health between smokers and non-smokers.
Conclusions/Recommendations : Smoking is more prevalent in Belfast but more cigarettes are smoked in Riyadh. As non-smokers had greater knowledge of the ill-effects of smoking upon their oral health, there is a need to develop location specific interventions to control smoking habits in late adolescence.

Résumé
L'attitude et les connaissances des lycéens de Belfast et Riyad vis-à-vis de l'utilisation de la cigarette

La cigarette représente un facteur de risque de la maladie parodontale. Cette étude a pour but d'examiner l'attitude et les connaissances dentaires des lycéens de Riyad et Belfast vis-à-vis de l'utilisation de la cigarette.
Huit écoles de Riyad et six de Belfast ont été sélectionnées par la méthode de fragmentation des échantillons. 290 étudiants de Riyad et 144 de Belfast ont été inclus, représentant un taux de réponse de 85 %. La santé orale en relation avec l'utilisation da la cigarette ne représentait aucune différence entre les 2 groupes. Cependant, les non-fumeurs de Belfast et Riyad (3.32 ± 1.60) avaient plus de connaissances concernant la cigarette et la santé orale que ceux qui fumaient (2.81±1.45) (t=2.73 : P=0.007). Aucune différence n'a été remarquée concernant la santé gingivale. L'utilisation de la cigarette est plus développée à Belfast, cependant plus de cigarettes sont fumées à Riyad.