Oral lesions and disorders and their prevalence arising from the use of illicit drugs in a prison population.

Background: The dependence on the illicit drugs has been proven to be harmful to the oral cavity and may lead to a series of abnormal manifestations. The main objective of this study was to observe the effects caused by the consumption of illicit drugs in the oral cavity, in a prison population in...

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Main Authors: Marta Relvas, Luciana Rocha, Paulo Rompante, Filomena Salazar, Luís Monteiro, Ana Sofia Vinhas, Maria Gonçalves
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Medical Journals Sweden 2025-01-01
Series:Acta Odontologica Scandinavica
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Online Access:https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaodontologica/article/view/42721
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Summary:Background: The dependence on the illicit drugs has been proven to be harmful to the oral cavity and may lead to a series of abnormal manifestations. The main objective of this study was to observe the effects caused by the consumption of illicit drugs in the oral cavity, in a prison population in the North of Portugal. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving 91 male inmates aged 25-75 years (mean age 41.14 ± 8.98), from Paços de Ferreira Prison. The participants were subjected to a medical interview and a clinical examination. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test were used to assess the association between the qualitative variables. The level of statistical significance used was α ≤ 0.05. Results: The consumption of illicit drugs proved to be a common practice (86.8%), where cannabis, heroin and cocaine were the most prevalent (29.1%). Thirty-one inmates were attending the methadone rehabilitation program (34.1%). Most of patients consuming illicit substances, were also smokers (93.7%) (p<.001). Of the 91 participants, 82 (90.1%) presented oral manifestations, with caries lesions being the most prevalent (61.0%) and oral mucosa lesions the least observed (3.7%). Heavy drug consumption was related with rampant caries lesion (p=.011) and chewing difficulty (p=.024) when compared with cannabis consumption. Conclusion: The main oral manifestations found, associated to the consumption of illicit drugs were caries lesions, tooth loss and sensitivity, periodontal diseases, temporomandibular disorders, xerostomia, and bruxism.
ISSN:0001-6357
1502-3850