Essay On Meth Mouth

Everyday we come upon individuals with abnormal behaviors. It makes us wonder if it is a syndrome, disease, or are they using drugs. As dental assistants we have to be aware of all the unusual behaviors at our dental office. The patient's safety should be a priority. There are various health problems relating back to dentistry many do not know of. One of them being “meth mouth”.

Meth mouth is caused by a drug called methamphetamine. In the street this strong stimulant drug can be known as meth, speed, ice, chalk, crank, fire, glass, or crystal. This drug can be smoked, snorted, injected, or taken orally. Methamphetamine comes in various forms. One of them being a bitter tasting powder that can be easily dissolved in beverages. Another common form is clear, chunky crystal known as “ice” or “crystal meth” and is smoked similarly to cocaine. Additionally, it can also be in a form of small, brightly colored tablets which are often called yaba (their thai name). The desirability of this drug is convenient to many because it is cheap, easy to make, and

the high lasts longer than crack cocaine (12 hours for meth and 1 hour for cocaine).
The history of methamphetamine relates back to amphetamine;a chemical with similar structures. Although, meth has a greater effect in the central nervous system. Amphetamine was first made in 1887 in Germany, and methamphetamine was later discovered in 1919. By 1943 both of these drugs were obtainable to treat a range of disorders such as narcolepsy, depression, obesity, alcoholism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). During World War II methamphetamine was used to keep troops awake. After the war, military supplies that were stored such as methamphetamine (used by injection) was available to the japanese public. Subsequently in 1950, methamphetamine was prescribed as a diet aid and to overcome depression. Eventually in 1960, the easy attainability caused the abuse of the drug to increase. When the U.S government passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act in 1970 methamphetamine was classified as a schedule II drug. Before 1970, methamphetamine was classified as a schedule III drug and was widely prescribed.
Now you should be wondering if meth is a prescription drug. As a schedule II drug prescribing methamphetamine can be very addicting. However, it can be prescribed by a doctor to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions. It is rarely used medically and only at doses much lower than those typically abused.
Long term users may experience anxiety, confusion, insomnia, and mood disturbances and display violent behavior. Symptoms of psychosis (severe mental disorder that contact with reality is lost) include paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions. For example, the sensation of insects crawling under the skin. In addition, your physical health is affected such as extreme weight loss, dental problems, skin sores (caused by scratching). The risk of infectious diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C is increased for meth users. The increased risk of the diseases is triggered by shared contaminated drug injection equipment and through unsafe sex. Short term users experience increased wakefulness and physical activity;decreased appetite; increased breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature; and irregular heart beat. Methamphetamine withdrawal symptoms are depression, anxiety, and tiredness.
Methamphetamine is widely used across the United States.

According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 1.2 million people (.4 percent of the population) reported using methamphetamine in the past year. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), who collect information of drug related episodes from hospital emergency departments throughout the nation, came to a conclusion that meth accounted for about 103,000 emergency department visits in 2011. Methamphetamine use is greater in the west and parts of the midwest as reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Community Epidemiology Work Group. The 2012 Monitoring the Future (MTF), reported Meth use in adolescents is common within the age of 12 or are 8th graders. Although, adolescent rates on meth use for 10th and 12th graders have decreased since 2007, the use of meth of those in 8th grades has not dropped within those 5

years.
The nervous system is greatly affected with the use of methamphetamine, especially dopamine. Methamphetamine releases high levels of a neurotransmitter in the brain called dopamine which is the result of pleasure. Dopamine is responsible for sending messages to the brain and different nerve cells in the body. It relates to motivation, pleasure, and motor function. Usually dopamine is recycled by the neurons. Although, the pleasure of methamphetamine is produced when the neurons are fooled by the drug and release lots of dopamine after the drug is inside the neuron. Eventually the pleasure effects, such as euphoria, stop and are followed by unpleasant feelings called “crash” that lead a person to lead to use more of the drug. Dopamine neurotransmitters are the most affected in the brain when an individual uses methamphetamine.
Now how does methamphetamine affect our physical appearance and overall our health? Some physical signs include skin disturbances, nasal problems, breathing problems and coughing, repetitive motions, heart disturbances, and the most important to dentistry is meth mouth and dental issues. Meth mouth being unpleasant tooth decay. Oral issues are caused by cravings of sugar and carbonated beverages, resulting in lack of flossing and brushing the teeth. Additionally, methamphetamine has high acid content because it is made from antifreeze, over the counter cold medications with ephedrine, drain cleaner, iodine, lantern fuel, battery acid, and numerous acidic products that are dreadful to teeth. Methamphetamine also decreases the saliva that is used to protect the teeth from the acid; furthermore meth users tend to clench their mouth which causes additional harm. Meth mouth can be corrected, but will be useless if the patient does not overcome the desire to use the drug. Dental treatment is complicated, long term, and expensive. Being part of the dental team, you need to know how to be able to work on a dry mouth, worn teeth, and damaged gums.
Dentistry is related to many things that are not really emphasized in our society. Some factors are also just ignored. Methamphetamine is a factor that can develop a “meth mouth” which relates to dentistry. If you know of somebody with a meth mouth, just remember not to make them smile, and let them know a visit to the dentist we be a great way to help them create a beautiful smile.