Cannabis, Cavities And Tooth Loss: Kind Dental Advice

Statistically, in just the last 12 months its recreational and medical use extends to 230,000,000 15-to-64-year-olds across the globe.

That’s representative of about 1.7% of that demographic.

Ahead of cocaine, pot is the most widely used drug on the planet. Many find that prescribed or not, it can have positive effects on mental wellbeing. Whether because it reduces anxiety or just puts a soft edge on the world, some people choose alcohol, some people choose weed.

There are many means and devices human beings will find to best navigate their way in this world and cannabis is just one of them.

The 2022 UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s World Drug Report noted that the legalising of cannabis in many parts of the world has accelerated its consumption and with that, the health issues apparently associated with it.

Cannabis products are varied.

It contains psychoactive (THC) and non-psychoactive (CBD) compounds; and both interact differently with the brain and nervous system. CBD has proven to have many therapeutic and anti-inflammatory benefits and is recognised as greatly assisting the manageability of chronic pain, nausea, and many cancer treatment side-effects.

Ironically, some cancers of which weed smoking may have been a contributory cause.

Both over the counter and on the street it’s an expanding industry. Internationally, recreational and medical cannabis laws continue to change. Millions of people commonly use the sativa plant for relaxation, and to treat anxiety, pain and insomnia; with other strains for other conditions. More accepted as a prescribed therapy, more data is becoming available to study its impact.

A Harvard Medical School team directs both the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core and the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) programme. Cognitive and clinical tests as well as neuroimaging reveal its affect on the human brain. What’s been discovered is heavy recreational use before the age of 16 may lead to poor performance on frontal cortex tasks – such as memory, attention, and judgment. MRIs of this group of test participanrs show changes in white matter: a is critical neural fibre for efficient communication across regions of the brain.

These results weren’t found in study subjects whose cannabis use started later in life.

If, at this point you haven’t picked it, pot is a paradox.

For weed to be government sanctioned is proof of its therapeutic value. Prolonged use of anything generally comes with consequences, with weed of course being no different. A decline in learning abilities, memory impairment and loss of refined motor skills are listed as possibilities.

Anxiety and depression, poor sleep quality, under-nourishment, and particular medications can also all produce those same cognitive issues – which many claim can be alleviated with cannabis use. The dichotomy of dope is that it has been reported as beneficial to patients already suffering dementia – although this collection of symptoms can be triggered by its use. Edibles solve the issue of the harmful combustable compounds from smoke that affect oral health.

Interestingly, among the distinct bacteria species in spliff smokers, there was an inverse association between enrichment of Actinomyces meyeri and the age cannabis smoking began.

From premature birth to Alzheimer’s disease are links with altered oral bacteria. Unnatural changes in the oral microbiome (dysbiosis) makes it possible for harmful bacteria to thrive in the mouth, enter the bloodstream and cause damage.Research into the effects of cannabis-caused changes to the oral microbiome and its impact on neurological disease has been a focus of the University of North Carolina since 2018.

With frequency of use, heavy-versus-light consumption included in their further investigations, dependency can have negative neurological effects. What’s yet to be clarified, is what drives these effects in cannabis users. While it’s recognised virtually tooth-by-tooth that there’s a direct relationship between oral health and mental health, what’s endeavoured is to understand the specificity of oral microbiome.

The most recent health issues linked to frequent weed smoking are dental cavities and severe tooth loss, identified by the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

Compared with non-users, it seems that people who smoked cannabis or hash at least once a month for more than a year had a 17% higher possibility untreated coronal decay, 55% more likelihood of root surface caries and higher odds by 41% of severe tooth loss.

Age, sex, race or ethnicity, education, income tobacco and alcohol consumption were all taken into account.

The focus was smoking, and not edibles. Smoking causes dry mouth, which can lead to tooth decay without the protective aspect of saliva. Munchie-induced high-fat, sugary snacks and drinks that are typically consumed, along with poor or sporadic brushing habits are major contributors to the survey findings.
Increased decriminalisation and legalisation has brought higher use, and many reasons for doing so.

Although it may lead to oral health problems, dentists aren’t suggesting it’s an inherently bad choice for their patients to make. It’s absolutely appreciated that it serves as a therapeutic agent for a number of disorders, illnesses and diseases.

What dentists want, is to usefully educate their patients in order to have them avoid the pitfalls that can lead to tooth loss. There’s no judgment; it’s no different to alerting any patient to anything they should be aware of – wearing a mouthguard for a contact sport player for instance.

For smokers, drinking water during the session is highly suggested. The chances of pathogen colonies is diluted, mouth dryness is avoided, and saliva production is maintained. For appetite spikes, avoiding junk food is preferable; although accepted probably almost impossible. Eating in one sitting lessens the detrimental impact constant snacking has on dental health: highly admirable in achievement and again, probably difficult.

Essentially, what it comes down to is proper brushing technique with a good quality, regularly replaced toothbrush or brush head, and using reputable oral hygiene products. Flossing is still under heavy debate, so whether you choose to do that or not makes much less difference when you’re seeing your dentist every six months.

So just do that.

The attitude to recreational reefer or medical marijuana is often either killjoy, or genius. All your dentist cares about is the best way for you to maintain good oral health, and keeping your own teeth regardless of any choices you may make.

That’s genius.

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Note: All content and media on the  Sunbury Dental House website and social media channels are created and published online for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.

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