Dental Dangers of Methamphetamines

As Albert Falls chewed on a croissant, he slowly worked his jaw with the caution of someone twice his age. His jagged, yellowing teeth took careful measure with each bite into the soft bread.

"A man my age shouldn't have to be gumming my food," the 32-year-old construction worker said. "It's disgusting, and plain sad."

Falls' woeful condition, which has come to be known as "meth mouth," is a growing problem among countless meth users across the country, and as the number of meth users grow, so does the amount of tax dollars set aside for their dental treatment in prisons and jails. And federal grant monies are now used by clinics to treat meth users who can't afford dental insurance.

The drug, which creates a feeling of euphoria and is highly addictive, is manufactured from common ingredients that can be purchased in stores and manufactured at home.

 
Example of Patient Afflicted with "Meth Mouth"
Lorma Linda School of Dentistry

A just-pulled tooth sits on a tray as Heike Olafsen, right, a dentist at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, and dental assistant Wendy Dahlgren, prepare to remove a second tooth from Ryan Didur, 28, of Pomona, an admitted former methamphetamine user.  
  
The California Department of Corrections will spend millions more annually for emergency dental work in its prisons. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is spending $400,000 this year for one full-time and two part-time dentists, plus a dental assistant. Officials there say it still isn't enough to keep pace with the patient volume.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department will spend $225,000 this year on a full-time dentist and dental assistant.

And throughout the penal systems, officials estimated about 80 percent of their dental patients have a history of methamphetamine use.

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By ROCKY SALMON / The Press-Enterprise