Is it just people on meth tend to neglect dental care and don’t floss/brush? Or is there actually a chemical in meth that causes your teeth to go bad?
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“Meth mouth” tooth decay is likely caused by a combination of drug-induced psychological and physiological changes resulting in dry mouth and long periods of poor oral hygiene. Methamphetamine itself is also acidic.
Basically, you’re so wacked out of your mind that you don’t notice your mouth falling apart.
Meth itself is acidic, plus the smoke produced, and maybe a behavioral component leads to tooth decay/staining.
* Meth weakens teeth
* Meth smoke is bad for teeth
* Meth addicts tend to neglect oral hygiene.
* EDIT: Forgot about the teeth grinding as well.
Also once had a friend get high on meth and drill a hole straight through a tooth with a tattoo needle. Obviously this isn’t a common way meth ruins teeth, but I thought I’d mention it lol.
Along with other reasons mentioned here, meth acts as a vasoconstrictor. That means the blood vessels constrict. The blood vessels feeding the teeth are affected as well, and those are pretty small (narrow) vessels. It doesn’t take much constriction for them to effectively close completely. No blood flow to your teeth means that the living roots will die.
The vast majority of the issue is that meth causes you to neglect your teeth. You tend to stay up for long periods of time having sugary things and not brushing. There is a small direct impact by the drug itself, it is acidic, but this isn’t really a major reason for developing meth mouth.
I heard it was because of all the Mountain Dew that meth heads drink. I’m sure a combination of chronic dry mouth and sugary soda is bad for teeth.
Less saliva, usually very dry mouth. Lack of hygiene, rarely brushing or flossing. But mostly from a terrible diet, barely getting any nutrients for days at a time.
To add:
Meth can also cause vomiting which will cause the stomach acids to quickly corrode tooth enamel.
It’s not the only drug that causes teeth to rot disproportionately of course. If you spend much time in certain places in south east asia and some of the pacific countries nearby, chewing betel nut is something of a way of life, and it’s pretty common to see people in those communities who have no teeth left even by their late twenties. Same reason, it’s corrosive as hell.
The health of your gums is quite vital to the health of your teeth. Meth use has negative impact on your gums also.
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