The National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week is coming January 22-27, 2019. This day is a national health observance linking teens to science-based facts to “shatter the myths” about drugs.
While there are obvious reasons why drugs are harmful to your health and safety, it may be less obvious that drugs have a harmful effect on your dental health as well. Along with drugs’ addictive powers, they also are bad for your teeth and gums as well.
Drug use can result in dry mouth. Dry mouth is the decreased production of saliva. Saliva shortages can lead to tooth decay because it allows harmful acids, plaque, and food remnants to remain on your teeth.
Most drugs are stimulants. If you become over stimulated you may begin to clench or grind your teeth. These harmful habits result in compromising of the strength of your teeth and can cause pain in your jaw, which can lead to other, larger issues.
Stronger drugs can compromise your ability to fulfill daily habits that help maintain your health. Dental health must be maintained daily, if you skip or put other priorities (such as when you will get your next “hit”) above your dental health, it will result in decaying teeth and gums.
Methamphetamine users have notoriously badly damaged teeth. According to WebMD, one study showed that, “96% of people who used meth had cavities and 58% had untreated tooth decay. People use the term ‘meth mouth’ to describe this condition of stained, badly damaged teeth.”
Our dentists at Group Health Dental would like to remind you that many habits that you have can damage your dental health. For this reason, it’s important to book and maintain your regular checkups and exams at our office. Contact our Manhattan Dental Exams experts today.
