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. 2018 Jan 10;18(1):8.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-017-0463-5.

The effect of methamphetamine abuse on dental caries and periodontal diseases in an Eastern China city

Tao Ye  1 , Dongliang Sun  1 , Guangying Dong  1 , Guangjie Xu  1   2 , Ligang Wang  2 , Jinjin Du  2 , Pengcheng Ren  3 , Shibin Yu  4
Affiliations

The effect of methamphetamine abuse on dental caries and periodontal diseases in an Eastern China city

Tao Ye et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: Dental diseases are among the most frequently reported health problems in drug abusers. However, few studies have been conducted on oral health of methamphetamine (meth) abusers in China. The aim of the present study was to investigate the caries and periodontal health profile of former meth abusers in Eastern China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 162 former meth abusers in the male Zhoushan Compulsory Detoxification Center. A standardized questionnaire, which collected information about age, drug-use duration / pattern, oral hygiene habit and systemic diseases, was administered. Then, a dental examination was performed to investigate the severity of dental caries and periodontal diseases. In evaluating dental caries, the prevalence of dental caries, the scores of decayed teeth (DT), missing teeth (MT), filled teeth (FT), and decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) were recorded. In evaluating periodontal diseases, community periodontal index (CPI), and the prevalence of gingival bleeding, dental calculus, periodontal pocket and loose teeth, were recorded. Additionally, the non-parametric test was adopted to analyze the potential risk factors via SPSS.

Results: All the participants abused meth by inhalation. The mean scores of DT, MT, FT and DMFT in the former meth users were 2.72 ± 2.78, 3.07 ± 3.94, 0.33 ± 1.03 and 6.13 ± 5.20 respectively. The prevalence of gingival bleeding, dental calculus, periodontal pocket and loose teeth was 97.53%, 95.68%, 51.23% and 9.26% respectively. The DT, DMFT and CPI scores in those who had abused meth for longer than 4 years were significantly higher than those who abused for less than 4 years (P = 0.039, 0.045, P < 0.001, respectively). The DT score in those who brushed their teeth more than twice a day were significantly lower than those who brushed less (P = 0.018).

Conclusions: The status of caries and periodontal diseases among former male meth users in Eastern China was poor. Prolonged drug abuse and lower frequency of tooth brushing may be the risk factors of their poor status of caries and periodontal diseases.

Keywords: Dental caries; Illicit drugs; Methamphetamine; Oral health; Periodontal diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University (Protocol No. IRB-REV-2014011). Data collection for the present study only involved a standardized questionnaire and a traditional dental examination without any intervention affecting the health status. Furthermore, the dental examination will help participants learn about their oral health status. Therefore, all the participants were only asked to give an oral consent (without written informed consent) before the study, which was also approved by the Ethics Committee of our school.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

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