Oral health assessment for users of illicit chemical substances

Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the prevalence of mucosal lesions and the oral health status of illicit drug users.
Methods: Thirty five questionnaires were applied to subjects under psychiatric treatment, sought information relating to demographic status, general health (comorbidities, hospitalizations, surgeries, allergies and use of medication) and use of legal and illegal drugs. The questionnaire applied was followed by a clinical assessment of oral health condition (DMFT index, salivary flow rate (SFR) and search for mucosal lesions) by two calibrated examiners. The control group was composed of non-drug users (n=35). Statistical analysis was performed by qui-square tests where p-values under 0.05 were considered significant.
Results: In the experimental group, 91.43% were males whereas 8.57% were females, from whom 80% were smokers and 42.85% alcoholic. Cocaine (77.15%) was the most commonly drug used, followed by marijuana (68.6%) and crack (51.4%). The average of DMFT index was 9.8 and SFR was reduced in 60% of this group. Mucosal alterations such as aphthous stomatitis, frictional keratosis, candidiasis and tongue depapillation were detected, but no potentially malignant disorders or lesions of oral cancer were diagnosed. In the control group, 40% were males, while 60% were females, from whom 22.85% were smokers and 5.7% were alcoholic. The average of DMFT index was 12.3 and SFR was reduced in 31.4% of non-users. Only frictional keratosis was observed in this group. There were significant higher values for sex (p=0.0001), smoking and heavy drinking habits (p=0.0001 for both), SFR (p=0.0308) and oral lesions (p=0.0488) in the experimental group. DMFT index presented a higher value (p=0.0148) in the control group. There were no significant differences between groups considering general health variables.
Conclusions: It was concluded that the use of illicit chemical substances contributed to decline SFR and increase the prevalence of lesions in the oral mucosa.