Should Dentists Care About Your Marijuana Use?
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Drugs and dentistry, specifically marijuana use and dentistry is a topic seen more often in the literature. Marijuana use has a connection with your oral health. So, yes, your dentist should care about your Marijuana use! This blogs reviews current findings and explains some of the dental associations related to Marijuana use and concerns your dentist may have.
Should dentists care about your Marijuana Use? Definitely! The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) published some of these concerns from a variety of sources in the January 2016 AGD Impact.
Marijuana
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Marijuana use is increasing and is now legal in many states including Colorado. The appeal of Marijuana is the association with pleasure, relaxing, perceived enhanced taste, sight and hearing. Along with increasing use, studies are showing negative health concerns. Our office recommends letting your dentist know about your Marijuana use and discuss possible oral health problems they may be able to see in your mouth.
The main concerns are the following:
- Impaired thought processes
- Impaired judgement
- Increased consumption of carbohydrates and sugars
- A weakened immune system
- Irritated airways
- There is a strong association with periodontal disease
- Increased exposure to carcinogens
Increased eating of sweets may lead to more tooth decay. In our office we have seen terrible tooth decay when marijuana chewables are combines with a dry mouth and a susceptible patient. We care about your dental health and want to provide the best care possible for you. We will always try to stay up to date with current recommendations related to your dental care. Thanks for reading our blog! We look forward to seeing you. In the meantime, please see more about what our office has to offer on our website at www.juliegillisdds.com or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/juliegillisddspc. We would love to have you follow us on Facebook!