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By Craig Palmer

Washington—Dentists are seeing "more and more of a condition we call meth mouth," ADA President Robert M. Brandjord told U.S. senators trying to get a better picture of methamphetamine abuse at a Capitol Hill forum Jan. 23.

Meth mouth is characterized by rampant caries or tooth decay, the Minnesota oral surgeon testified. Some users describe their teeth as "blackened, stained, rotting, crumbling or falling apart," he testified with clinical illustration.

	Dr. Brandjord: "Often, there is no hope of treating methamphetamine damaged teeth, leading to full mouth extractions." (Photos by Anna Ng Delort)

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), one of the organizers of the Senators' National Town Hall Meeting on Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention, pointed to an enlarged photo offered by the American Dental Association illustrating the ravages of meth mouth and said, "That picture, if you look at society, that's the impact we're seeing." Other witnesses in emotional personal testimony and government statements distributed at the forum spoke to the dental impact of methamphetamine abuse.

"The American Dental Association believes meth mouth is a very serious disease that is robbing people, especially young people, of their teeth," Dr. Brandjord testified. "In an effort to highlight this condition, the ADA has posted educational materials on our Web site for both dentists and patients." He encouraged the bipartisan senators staging the event, the Senate audience and off-site viewers to visit ADA.org for more information on meth mouth. The three-hour forum was Webcast nationally with a satellite feed to home states of participating senators, Sen. Coleman's press secretary said.

The ravages of meth mouth are extensive, the ADA president testified. "Often, there is no hope of treating methamphetamine damaged teeth, leading to full mouth extractions. This can, and in some cases already has, led to significant increases in oral health care costs for society."

Bipartisan panel: From left, Sens. Baucus and Coleman with forum moderator Dr. O'Connell.

Communities, hospital emergency rooms, correctional facilities and dental practices are directly affected by meth users, Dr. Brandjord said in testimony echoed by other witnesses. "Like prisons, hospital emergency rooms are not set up to handle extractions, certainly not extensive extractions. The patients are then referred to dentists for care and often present complex management and treatment obstacles."

Dr. Brandjord thanked the bipartisan senators for convening the forum "to put a spotlight on this growing problem of methamphetamine use." Also participating were Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Craig Thomas (R-Wyo). Administration drug abuse officials also testified including U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. Moderating the event was Libby Haight O'Connell, Ph.D., historical adviser for The History Channel and a producer and developer of educational and community-based initiatives for A&E Television Networks.