Pubdate: Sun, 04 Feb 2007
Source: North County Times (Escondido, CA)
Copyright: 2007 North County Times
Contact:  http://www.nctimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080
Note: Gives LTE priority to North San Diego County and Southwest 
Riverside County residents
Author: Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH DESTROYING TEETH OF PRISONERS, CAUSING DENTAL BUDGET TO SOAR

LAS VEGAS -- Methamphetamine use can turn a healthy set of teeth into 
a rotting mess and its widespread use is causing a surge in the 
dental budget of Nevada's prison system.

The oral effects of methamphetamine, an addictive drug commonly made 
with household products or over-the-counter medicines, are so 
devastating and so unique that the condition is now known in medical 
circles as meth mouth.

"The mouths of the addicts we see in prison often aren't pretty," 
said Dr. Jeff Lissy, the state's top dentist in the correctional 
system. "Many of the inmates didn't take care of their teeth before 
they started meth, so use of the drug is just one more assault on 
their dental care."

Gov. Jim Gibbons has called the fight against methamphetamine 
addiction "the colossal struggle of our times."

The funding he has proposed goes largely to law enforcement and 
rehabilitation programs. None of the money he has proposed toward 
fighting the drug is slated to go toward treating meth mouth in 
inmates, though the problem appears to be getting worse.

Nevada's prison population has increased 19 percent to 12,500 inmates 
from 10,500 four years ago. But over the same time, the dental budget 
has 62 percent to $2.1 million, up from $1.3 million.

The cause of the meth mouth is simple: Use of the drug inhibits 
saliva production, which exposes teeth to bacteria that cause cavities.

In self-treating their "dry mouth," addicts drink sugared sodas -- 
Mountain Dew, according to dentists, is the preferred drink -- which 
spurs decay. The highly addictive nature of methamphetamine causes 
many users to halt most hygienic practices, including brushing their teeth.

Because meth makes users feel anxious or nervous, they regularly 
clench and grind their teeth, which often leads to cracks in the 
enamel. When the drug causes vessels that supply blood to oral 
tissues to shrink up, the tissues die, a sure path to the worst kind 
of gum disease.

Dentist Melinda Anderson remembers the first time she saw meth mouth vividly.

Six years ago, she was a 25-year-old dental student at Loma Linda 
University in California, and a 20-year-old man came into the 
university believing he might have chipped a tooth.

"He might just as well have been sucking on radioactive materials," 
she said. "What had been done to his mouth was that toxic. I couldn't 
believe what I was seeing."

Anderson recalled that most of the teeth on the right side of the 
patient's mouth were broken off at the gumline. His gums were 
pus-streaked. Teeth that remained were twisted and either black stubs 
or a strange grayish-brown. And they had a bizarre texture that was 
more like ripened fruit than hard enamel.

"I was so confused by what I was seeing that I immediately went to an 
instructor," she said. "I couldn't believe someone so young literally 
had to get what remaining teeth he had extracted. When I described 
what I found ... the instructor simply said, 'Oh, he has to be a 
methamphetamine user.' "

Anderson works on meth mouth patients at On Site Dental mobile clinic 
parked behind Paris Las Vegas on a pro bono basis.

Anderson said she wants "to help people with this addiction, but you 
don't feel like you're doing that much with extractions."

"There's not much we can do until we get them off this stuff, until 
we show people that it's foolish to even try it.

"It's going to take all of us in the community to work and solve this 
meth problem," she said. "Almost all of us know someone who has been 
involved with this. From the way I see people needing help with their 
teeth, I'm not sure we've seen the worst of this yet."

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman