The Effect of Methamphetamines on

Oral Health

By: Matthew Cheswick

Independent Research PD.3

Mr. Ashcraft

Methamphetamine

•a psycho stimulant drug•prevalent throughout popular culture •acts on the brain to cause euphoria. •commonly referred to as “meth.”

Methamphetamine Users

A methamphetamine user as almost anyone. • adolescents • college students looking for a “high” or looking for

a way to stay awake longer in order to cram for their studies.

• women who want to lose weight• moms who want to stay awake longer to get more

out of their busy day. • anyone who needs to stay awake longer to further

their profession.

Common Methods of Ingestion

swallowing inhaling snortingsmoking (in its crystal form, commonly called “Crystal Meth.”)

What is Meth-Mouth?

The effect of methamphetamines on oral health and is termed, “Meth-Mouth.”

Methamphetamines negatively impact the teeth and gums of the user, causing irreparable damage to the user’s oral health.

Meth-Mouth has only recently gained attention in the dental community, mostly among dentists who work in prisons.

Causes of Meth-Mouth The methods of ingestion combined with the

ingredients of methamphetamines contribute to the cause of Meth-Mouth.

Ingredients anhydrous ammonia or farm fertilizer red phosphorus lithium or battery acid lantern fuel antifreeze hydrochloric acid hydrogen peroxide drain cleaner, lye, ephedrine and muriatic acid.

Corrosive Effects on Oral Health

the “high” causes the user to crave highly sugared drinks. These drinks have a negative effect on oral health and foster tooth decay.

the drug also produces an effect known as xerostomia, or dry mouth. In order to counter-act the dry mouth, users will again reach for soft drinks; in most cases, highly sugared soft drinks, further enhancing the negative impact on the user’s oral health

a person of this profile would not be likely to go for dental check ups regularly, if at all.

Other Effects Produces:

a feeling of anxiety or nervousness, causing the user to clench or grind teeth, resulting in cracked teeth,

a.k.a. Bruxism. dryness in salivary glands

causing a build up of oral bacteria as much as ten times the normal level.

increasing the effects of the acidic ingredients of meth (mentioned in previous slide) that can eat away at the teeth, causing holes and other weak spots, which turn to cavities.

shrinkage of the blood vessels causing the destruction of oral tissues and arteries that supply the

teeth and the gums with a blood supply. After repeated use these oral tissues and arteries die, resulting in

periodontitis or gum disease.

Awareness of Dental Community

The research and documentation of Meth-Mouth is so new that most family dentists are unaware of its effects.

Dental decay due to methamphetamine use is often difficult for a dentist to diagnose. A meth user’s mouth looks like the mouth of any other person

who doesn’t take care of his/her teeth. Dentists have received very little information on the existence of

the condition known as Meth-Mouth. For the most part, only those dentists who are involved in jails

and juvenile centers have knowledge of Meth-Mouth. Many dentists are out there seeing this but don't know what

they're seeing. Dentists who are aware of the problem are reluctant to question

their patients about drug use.

What Dentists should do

Dentists should be advised to look for accelerated decay between visits combined with malnutrition in their patients. The malnutrition is due to the fact that methamphetamine is an appetite suppresant and the long “high” results in the users neglecting to eat.

Dentists sould also look for a distinctive pattern of decay on the buccal smooth surface of the teeth and the interproximal surfaces of the anterior teeth. [Peterson, Dan, Family Gentle Dental Care]

Besides weight loss and corroded teeth, dentists should be aware of physical symptoms such as body odor, open sores from scratching, sleeplessness, blurred vision, and convulsions.

Dentists should look especially at teenagers and young adults for these symptoms.

Conclusions

Methamphetamine use is having a huge impact on oral health. Since methamphetamine use has become prevalent in popular

culture and is in wide recreational use, the dental community and the public need to be informed of it effects on oral health.

Steps need to be taken to education people of this very, real danger of methamphetamine use. Perhaps, this information will help to deter its use in new users of the drug.

Information and education to the dental community will aid in its treatment and recognition by family dentists.

Goals

To inform the dental community, especially family dentists about the existence of meth-mouth.

To present my project to a panel of dentists, assembled by my dental advisor.

To get in touch with a professor at a dental school who can help further my goals.

Testimony 1

Dr. Daniel D. Roberts,a dentist in Tennessee, gave up his ordinary practice to work at 10 jails across the state. He estimates that nearly a third of the prisoners in these jails have “ravaged teeth” due to methamphetamine use. “This is the worst thing to come along in a long time,” said Dr. Roberts.

[Davey, Monica, “Grisley Effect of One Drug: Meth-Mouth,” June 11, 2005]

Testimony 2

One inmate at the Maryville Treatment Center, Jeffery Lotshaw regularly flossed and brushed. “He faithfully brushed, sometimes four or five times in a day. Cavity was a foreign word. It seems incomprehensible today: Lotshaw’s grin is toothless after watching his teeth break apart, tarnished with yellow and black.” Another inmate, Bryan Rogers brushed regularly because he was concerned that other inmates’ teeth were rotting. "I was always thinking that’s not going to happen to me because I keep brushing." Both Lotshaw and Rogers are awaiting dentures. Lotshaw has lost 11 teeth and Rogers has lost 3.

[“Meth Mouth Steals Smiles from Inmates,” Columbia Daily Tribune, February 6, 2005]