25.05.23
3 minute read
Oral health problems are among the most prevalent health problems associated with drug addiction (1). Many of the people we support struggle with their dental health through numerous compounding factors. These include:
- Access to NHS appointments is extremely limited and getting worse. (2)
- Opioids increase teeth grinding, give people cravings for sweet foods and numb pain, meaning people can ignore developing and ongoing issues. (3)
- For someone who is dependent on a substance like alcohol or opioids, dental health is likely to be a low priority compared to not becoming sick from withdrawal. (3)
- Stigma, embarrassment, and previous negative experiences in dental settings can be barriers to people accessing the support they need. (4)
In collaboration with dental health charity Dentaid, we ran two days of dental appointments for people engaged in BDP services from our location in Brunswick Square. Participants received a check-up, could talk to a dentist about any issues they were having and had emergency procedures, including fillings and extractions as needed. Over the two days, we had 23 people with dental issues and barriers to treatment seen by a dentist. The patients were booked in by staff across our services and an allocated Engagement worker who supported them to their appointment. If there were any no-shows on the day, these slots were filled by walk-ins from our advice centre.
Over the two days, we performed:
- 23 oral assessments
- 23 cancer screenings
- 21 extractions
- 20 fillings
- Total of 119 separate treatments between the 23 people
Janet*, who used the service on the day, said:
“Previous bad experiences put me off from going to the regular dentist; I didn’t trust them. Because of who BDP is, the organisation, I trusted it straight away.
It was a really good experience; it’s made me want to follow it up and get more work done. Because of my self-confidence and being so embarrassed about my mouth – I didn’t go places or do anything that I would normally do. “
*Name changed for privacy
References:
(1) Met and unmet need for dental services among active drug users in Miami, Florida, Metsch, Crandall, Wohler-Torres et al. The Journal of Behavioural Health Services & Research, 2002
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02287704
(2) NHS dentistry: What future is there if dentists can’t pay the bills?
(3)Oral Health of Drug Abusers: A Review of Health Effects and Care
Shekarchizadeh, Khami, Mohebbi, Ekhtiari, Virtanen, 2013.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4453891/
(4) Stigma of addiction and mental health in dental settings: patients’ experiences, Alan Rana, 2014 https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0167504
