Dental health of Irish alcoholdrug abuse treatment centre residents.
This study examines the independent and combined impact of alcohol only and alcohol plus drug abuse on the dental health of Irish alcoholdrug abuse treatment centre residents, comparing their dental caries experience. Four Irish treatment centres were visited periodically over a year. Data was collected on residents alcohol, tobacco and drug habits. Participants underwent comprehensive oral examination. Of 210 participants (148 males and 62 females), 53% reported an alcohol plus drug abuse 44% had an alcohol-only abuse. Drug-only abusers (n 7) were excluded. Ages ranged from 18-73 with 59% aged under 40. Alcohol-only abusers were significantly older than alcohol plus drugs abusers (p < 0.001). Mean DMFT (14.4, sd 7.3) and MT scores (7.3, sd 6.8) were above the national averages. Alcohol-only abusers had higher DMFT scores (p < 0.001), more missing teeth (p < 0.001) and more filled teeth (p < 0.01) than drugs plus alcohol abusers. DT scores did not vary significantly between study groups. Multivariate analysis confirmed the significance of gender (males OR 2.31, p 0.009) on DT scores and highly significant influence of age (age < 36, OR 0.08, p < 0.001) on MT status. However, study group was not a significant influence once age was taken into consideration. The study reveals a high level of dental disease among Irish alcoholdrug abusers. While some authors have suggested that alcohol-only abusers may experience less decay than alcohol plus drug abusers, this study found no significant difference in the caries experience of the two groups once age was taken into consideration.