Methamphetamine Use and Dental Problems among Adults Enrolled in a Program to Increase Access to Oral Health Services for People Living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract

Individuals who are HIV-positive with a history of meth use experience access barriers to oral health care and more dental problems. Our study demonstrated that it is possible to recruit this population into dental care. Findings suggest that predisposing, enabling, and need factors can serve as demographic, clinical, and behavioral markers for recruiting people living with HIV/AIDS into oral health programs that can mitigate dental problems.

The relationship between impulsivity and methamphetamine use severity in a community sample

“…MA use also represents a major public health concern (Rawson and Condon, 2007) and has been associated with a host of negative public health outcomes such as decreased quality of life, serious health issues, psychiatric comorbidity, risky sexual behavior, and impairments in daily functioning (Henry et al, 2010; Shoptaw et al, 2003; Walter et al, 2012). …”

Association Among Periodontitis and the Use of Crack Cocaine and Other Illicit Drugs

“…Users of multiple illicit drugs have poorer periodontal status. This association has been found among drug users without crack cocaine use, 33–35 when the main drug was heroin, 36 , 37 methamphetamine, 15 , 16 marijuana, 38 and cocaine 13 , 30 . Evidence has demonstrated individuals dependent on illicit drugs rarely restrict themselves to only one type of drug during the course of their dependence 39 .…”

“…It is also possible high temperature of crack smoke may affect periodontal tissue. Moreover, behavioral issues inherent to illicit drug users, such as low self‐esteem, unsatisfactory personal and oral hygiene, and failure to seek dental care, can also exert an influence on severity of periodontal disease 15 , 16 . In addition, psychiatric and cognitive disorders in users may also contribute to worsening periodontal condition 18 …”

“…Crack cocaine use is associated with higher occurrences of: 1) heart disease; 3 2) respiratory disease; 1 3) hepatitis; 2 4) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); 7 and 5) death 8 . This drug leads to: 1) a lowered immune response; 9–12 2) vasoconstriction; 3) xerostomia (dry mouth); 13 , 14 and 4) precarious oral hygiene, 15 , 16 which can affect progression and severity of periodontal disease. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, association between crack cocaine and periodontal disease has not previously been studied.…”

Drug Use and Abuse in HIV

“…HIV-infections alters structure and functioning in brain reward systems due to infection-drug susceptibility at cellular and molecular sites [28,29], putatively accompanied by neurotoxic signaling [30]. These alterations, accordingly, appear to render the brain systems involved hypersensitive to the rewarding properties of addictive drugs [31,32].…”