Oral status in adolescents with alcohol addiction

Introduction: Alcohol addiction is one of major public health concerns because rich assortment of alcohol drinks, alcohol advertising may hasten the initiation of alcohol drinking and increase consumption among children and adolescents nowadays. Cytotoxic effect of alcohol is among the leading causes of oral mucosa malignant degeneration, therefore alcohol drinkers are at risk of cancerous diseases. This should be taken into consideration by dentists during routing check-ups. The assessment of oral status in alcohol abusers is essential for making up a treatment plan and prophylaxis, and the investigation of oral manifestations in alcohol drinkers is of great clinical significance. The aim: To determine the peculiarities of oral status in underage drinkers.

Materials and methods: The study involved 135 inpatients aged 14-17, who took the course of treatment at the Narcological Department, Poltava Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital. We assessed the condition of periodontal tissues and oral mucosa.

Results: There was a tendency towards an increase in precancerous diseases depending on the age of patients and the length of alcohol addiction. The prevalence rate of the diseases in the first group of patients who had being abused alcohol for 2 years was 10,91% of cases; and in the second group of patients who had being abused alcohol for 3 years it made up 16,80%. This may be explained by adverse effect of ethanol on the oral mucosa and by no regular dental check-ups.

Conclusions: Based on the results obtained, it is appropriate to recommend mandatory oral check-ups for adolescents with alcohol abuse.