The effect of the prolonged use of narcotic substances on oral health

Abstract

Introduction : Drug use is a socially significant problem, involving different groups regardless of their age, gender, race and religion. The significant growth of drug abusers worldwide requires the development of a model and algorithm for the diagnosis, treatment and behavior of dental practitioners in regard to these patients. Aim : The aim of this article is to summarize the data from the scientific literature, reading the current studies of Bulgarian and foreign authors, in order to identify variations in oral pathology induced by drug abuse. Material s and Methods: A search has been conducted, using Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. The keywords were: "drugs", "research", "patients", "oral health", "effect", "oral pathology". Results: After a thorough study of available literature, we were able to summarize results showing that patients with long-term drug abuse had significantly worse oral health. Drug addicts had a much higher DMFT than control group scores. The periodontal status of patients showed reduced oral hygiene habits, resulting in elevated levels of S tr eptococcus m utans , actinomycetes and others; as well as xerostomia. Conclusion : The study has allowed us to conclude that continued use and abuse of narcotic drugs has a bad effect on patients' oral health.