Pubdate: Thu, 05 May 2005
Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
Copyright: 2005 The Herald-Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.hdonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454
Author: Larry Bivins, and Pamela Brogan
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH WREAKS HAVOC ON INMATES' TEETH

WASHINGTON -- The smile is a giveaway. Broken, rotting teeth. Darkened
gums.

The condition is called "meth mouth" and it's becoming increasingly
familiar to corrections officers and dentists who deal with
methamphetamine addicts.

It's also inflating the cost of locking up meth addicts, according to
state and local officials.

"The costs just go on and on," Wisconsin Attorney General Peggy
Lautenschlager said of meth's impact on prison budgets. "Dental costs
alone are skyrocketing."

In Coffee County, Tenn., Sheriff Steve Graves said meth-addicted
inmates are depleting the money he has budgeted for prisoners' tooth
and gum problems.

"It's not uncommon for us to take a vanload at a time to the dentist,"
he said.

Dr. Charles Tatlock, a dentist at the University of New Mexico, has a
theory about why methamphetamine users experience meth mouth.

Tatlock, who teamed up with Albuquerque dentist Stephen Wagner to
conduct a yearlong study of the problem, said the highly addictive
drug leaves a user's mouth dry. Without the protective enzymes
provided by saliva, the teeth go bad. Tatlock said users compensate
for dry mouth by drinking sodas or other sugary drinks, which tend to
hasten the decay.

"The teeth become very brittle and they break off," Tatlock said. "It
looks almost as if they've snapped off, and there's like a blackened
halo over the remaining roots."

Tatlock said the only option is to pull what's left of the teeth and
replace them with dentures. He said the cost of full dentures ranges
from $6,000 to $8,000.

"These are dead teeth," Tatlock said. "By the time they come to see us
at our clinic, we're talking about multiple teeth."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin