%0 Journal Article %T Capillaroscopic evaluation of smoking and non-smoking patients¡¯ gingival margin %A Bahar F¨¹sun Oduncuo£¿lu %J - %D 2019 %X Objective: Gingival videocapillaroscopy is a non-invasive method to observe the changes in the gingival microvasculature. Smoking, which may cause vascular changes in gingiva, is a risk factor for periodontal diseases. This study aimed to observe the gingival capillary characteristics of healthy, gingivitis and chronic periodontitis patients and the effect of smoking status on microcirculation. Material-Methods: One-hundred twenty-nine patients participated in the study. Smoking and non-smoking patients were categorized in three groups based on the periodontal status as follows; group S (n=23), non-smoking patients with clinically healthy gingiva; group SS (n=20), smoking patients with clinically healthy gingiva; group G (n=25), non-smoking patients with gingivitis; group GS (n=20), smoking patients with gingivitis; group P (n=20), non-smoking patients with chronic periodontitis and group PS (n=21), smoking patients with chronic periodontitis. Periodontal clinical parameters were recorded. Gingival videocapillaroscopy was used to investigate the characteristics of microcirculation with x200 magnification. Obtained images were analyzed for the capillary number and area by a software program. Results: Number of capillaries were significantly lower in S, SS, SG and SP groups compared to G and P groups (p<0,003). Vascular area calculations showed significant differences between the groups and were S-SS