Author: amber4.14.11
Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:28 am
Ive posted on the forum about my teeth issues…..
by June I’ll have a full denture on the top, and a partial on the bottom….I have 4 teeth of my own on bottom, where the partial will go. but all 14 gotta go on the top… (im 30)
So I wanted to write what my dentist had to say when I explained to him my drug history….
"this will be a bigger and bigger issue as time goes on. alot of doctors think only methamphetimine destroys teeth, but opiates and the like are known for this as well."
The biggest problem is studies they’ve done in other parts of the world, opiates, especially methadone are known to deplete calcium levels in the blood for some unknown reason. Which makes the enamel thinner on your actual tooth. Then you have the dry mouth. When your mouth becomes dry, whatever you eat or drink, sticks to it. Factor in the thinner enamel the dry mouth and adicts that may not be the best at ‘oral care’ and you’ve got a real problem.
then, lets say you have a cavity. Is an adict really gonna spend $125 to go get a cavity filled?
so then your cavity spreads, your tooth breaks, the tooth next to it has a cavity and so on……….
He said he’s seen more young people in the last 3 years with my type of situation than all the young people hes seen over 20 years all added together.
its bad apparently, and will just get worse.
I dont think ‘bupe’ poses the same problems, and having it ‘set in your head’ to take care of your teeth, and go to regular checkups would probably even help alot to people on opiates, I would think.
I never posted what I actually heard from the dentist, so thought it was worth posting.
It just sucks becuase my new teeth are costing almost $9,000
money well spent, but when I tried to get help before, like the ‘dental van’ that comes around, they would tell me I needed to be seen by a surgeon, and I just didnt have that kind of money…..
so I felt completely stuck. Ive been saving and saving, and my grandma’s helping me too.
You never realize how much your teeth affect your daily life, until you have BIG problems. and your embarrased to smile, or have your picture taken. (i just never smiled showing teeth) You pick out groceries, according to what you can eat, without chewing too much.
Uhhg.
Thank god Im getting them fixed