What exactly is meth mouth?
DR. ROBERT BRANDJORD: “Meth mouth” occurs when a person has a rapid onset of dental decay. Often, their teeth become blackened and stained and appear to be rotting away and falling apart. What makes it different from normal dental decay is the rapid rate at which it occurs. The difference between meth mouth and other types of decay can be pretty clear. Most of the time when people have tooth decay, it happens in the back of the mouth, in the grooves of the teeth because that area is the hardest to clean. When a person has tooth decay as a result of meth use, the decay occurs on the front teeth, along the surfaces of the gumline – which, ironically, is the easiest area to get clean. Can someone get meth mouth even if they don’t smoke meth — but, say, uses the drug intravenously? You can get any of the effects of meth mouth without actually smoking meth. Contrary to popular belief, meth mouth is not a result of the toxic chemicals of the drug itself. Meth mouth can occur for a number of
