Your Mouth on Meth

Common Ingredients in Meth Manufacturing The com mon ingredients used in making methamp hetamine and listed below are very acidic: ■ Antifreeze ■ Battery acid ■ Drain cleaner ■ Hydrochloric acid ■ Lantern fuel ■ Lye ■ Muriatic acid ■ Paint thinner ■ Red phosphorus found in the strips on match boxes ■ Over-the-counter cold medicines that contain ephedrine Mix these together and you have some caustic stuff. Meth users can go from having healthy teeth and a sparkling smile to losing their teeth in a very short time period. For most, dentures D M are the only option. D , n e l l A These dangerous chemicals can also make you h t i feel like there are bugs under your skin, causing d u J you to scratch yourself to the point that you : o t o have bleeding sores on your face, arms and legs. h p Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians' Network Your Mouth on P O Box 60427 | Nashville, TN 37206 Phone: 615 226-2292 Meth [email protected] | www.nhchc.org One Big Problem What You Can Do What You Need to Know While methamphetamine is very damaging to ■ Do not use methamphetamine or other the body and brain, it also destroys teeth. An drugs. unhealthy, unattractive mouth makes it difficult ■ If you’re already using, call the agency Meth, Speed, Ice, Chalk, Crank, Fire, Glass and to feel good about your appearance, socialize below for help getting off drugs. Crysta l are street names for the drug and find a job. ■ Instead of drinking sodas, drink plenty of metha mphetamine. Others will tell you that water. meth will make you feel good. It’s pretty cheap Meth Mouth ■ Be concerned if you notice family and re adily available, even though it is illegal. members or friends, especially teens and Meth user’s teeth become blackened, stained, young adults, who have unexplained and rotted and crumble or fall apart at the gum line. Meth amphetamine is a stimulant, a type of drug rapid tooth decay. That’s why meth damaged teeth often cannot that s peeds up your brain and pumps up your ■ Ask them about it and help them get be saved and must be extracted or removed, heart rate and breathing. Meth users can snort, treatment. Call the agency listed below. even among young or short-term users. swallo w, inject, smoke or use the drug as a ■ Brush and floss your teeth daily. suppo sitory. Tempted to get high? The large amount of tooth decay is due to ■ Ask a health care provider about how to meth’s acid nature and the fact that it causes get dental care. Many health care for the dry mouth, which eliminates the mouth’s homeless agencies provide dental care or What Meth Does protective saliva. Users crave sugary soda and help homeless people get dental care. ■ Meth gives the user an intense high and is ■ Try to see a dentist at least once a year. grind or clench their teeth. The focus on highly addictive; many who want to quit, getting high causes users to stop taking care of can’t. After just one hit of meth, you’re in a themselves, including not brushing their teeth. d ownward spiral that’s hard to pull out of. Sources ■ It rapidly becomes used more often and in ■ American Dental Association ■ Denver Health Community Voices la rger amounts. ■ M eth can cause difficulty breathing, an ■ KidsHealth®, The Nemours Foundation irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and ■ National Institute on Drug Abuse ■ National Survey on Drug Use & Health lung failure. ■ Meth hijacks your brain. It changes your (2004) brain’s chemistry and can cause permanent ■ HCH Clinicians’ Network Oral Health brain damage. Task Force ■ Taking meth may make you irritable, confused, anxious, paranoid and aggressive. ■ Meth decreases your appetite, leading to Your Agency Name Here malnutrition and extreme weight loss. ■ Using meth can make you shaky, dizzy, Your agency address, phone and unable to sleep and cause hallucinations, other contact information here seizures—uncontrollable jerking body movements—and even death. .

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