Objective: this study was carried out to evaluate the relationship between smoking and periodontal status in a selected Malaysian population. The sample for this cross-sectional study involved 39 subjects who were smokers. Each subject was required to answer the guided questionnaire followed by clinical examination. The questionnaires had 11 questions and were set in English and Bahasa Melayu. Basically, the questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: socio-demographic data, smoking status and subject's knowledge on periodontal health. The clinical parameters used in this study were: Community Periodontal Index, Visible Plaque score, Gingival Bleeding Index and Calculus Surface Index. Results showed that out of 39 subjects, 28 subjects (71.8%) were current smokers, followed by 6 subjects (15.4%) and 5 subjects (12.8%) who were former and who never smoked respectively. From the 216 sextants examined, 42 sextants (19.4%) were healthy gingival, 127 sextants (58.8%) suffered from gingivitis and 47 (21.8%) sextants suffered from periodontitis. There were positive relationships between smoking and periodontal status.

The objectives of this study were to measure the Furcation Entrance Dimensions of first and second permanent molars in Malaysian samples and to compare the Furcation Entrance Dimensions with the blade widths of periodontal Gracey’s curette used for root surface instrumentation. A total of 199 extracted permanent teeth were measured, which comprised of 51 mandibular first molars, 51 mandibular second molars, 45 maxillary first molars and 52 maxillary second molars. Furcation Entrance Dimension was measured using calibrated test gauges. Results showed 51.91% of Furcation Entrance Dimension was <0.70mm. Forty eight percent (48.09%) of Furcation Entrance had Furcation Dimension of more than 0.70mm. It was concluded that 51.91% of all the Furcation Entrance Dimensions of these teeth were less than the blade width of new Gracey curettes. Therefore, new periodontal Gracey’s curette of small dimension may be the best choice of instrumentation and that ultrasonic debridement using a narrow tip may be a more appropriate choice.