Estado dental y periodontal de población en tratamiento por consumo de drogas.

Problematic drug use may affect the oral health of consumers. This research was designed to detect the prevalence of dental and periodontal pathology in an adolescent and young adult population in treatment for drug dependence. A transversal, observational, descriptive study was conducted. It included 72 subjects being treated for drug addiction at Portal Amarillo, a national reference centre. The mean value of the DMF index was 8.04. When discriminating by age group, in the ages between 15 and 24 the DMF Index was 5.31, while in the ages between 25 and 35 it was 11.27. The periodontal survey showed that 65% of the participants suffered from gingivitis and 18% from periodontitis. The results showed a greater prevalence of oral disease in patients who are drug addicts than in the rest of the population. First level health services should take special prevention and early detection measures when treating patients who are drug addicts.