Knowledge and Awareness Regarding MDMA among Undergraduate Dental Students in Kerala, India - An Evaluative Study

Drug abuse or substance usage disorder is a complex disorder related to the taking of a drug of abuse leading to harmful consequences to themselves or to others. There can be several oral manifestations of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) abuse, including xerostomia, bruxism, rapid tooth decay, dental erosion, attrition, periodontitis, gingivostomatitis, mucosal trauma, ulceration, candidiasis, median rhomboid glossitis, leucoplakia, hairy tongue, frictional hyperkeratosis and herpes infections.

This cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire among undergraduate dental students across the 27 dental colleges in Kerala. The responses were then tabulated and analysed using Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences, version 29.0 software (IBM, Chicago). The results were then expressed as numbers and percentages for every question. The Chi-square test was performed to determine the analysis between various variables. Comparison of knowledge scores with various variables was done using Mann-Whitney U/Kruskal-Wallis H Test. P value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

A total of 428 dental students participated in the present study. Regarding dental manifestations of MDMA use, 43.7% correctly reported tooth wear, dental caries and periodontitis as the most appropriate manifestations. In relation to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) effects, just over half of the students (51.9%) correctly identified bruxism, TMJ dysfunction and clicking and popping sounds as MDMA-related effects.

The study revealed that 21.5% of the participants had good knowledge, 50% had fair knowledge and 28.5% had poor knowledge scores. Fourth-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery students demonstrated higher fair knowledge scores than their counterparts.