Illicit drugs use as risk factor of dental trauma among adolescents

Abstract The dental trauma and consumption of illicit drugs can seriously jeopardize adolescents’ health and are considered serious public health problems. Objective To investigate the association between dental trauma and the use of illicit drugs and socioeconomic status among adolescents 12 years of age. Methods Cross-sectional study involving 633 adolescents enrolled in public and private schools of the city Diamantina-MG. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires and clinical examination. The dental trauma was assessed by Andreasen classification and consumption of illicit drugs was investigated using the ASSIST instrument (Involvement Screening Test for with Alcohol, Cigarette and Other Substances). Associations were tested using the Chi-square test and Fisher's Exact test (p <0.05). Results The presence of dental trauma was observed in 176 adolescents (29.9%). The reported prevalence of marijuana use was 1.5% (9/588), 0.3% cocaine (2/588) and inhalants 1.7% (10/588). Dental trauma was more prevalent among adolescent males (p=0.010) who had used marijuana (p=0.024) in life. Conclusion The observed association between illicit drug use and male with dental trauma suggests the need to adopt policies for the effective control of these conditions especially at an early age.