POT SMOKE MAY RUIN A SMILE

It may not just give you a bad case of the munchies: Regular
marijuana smoking appears to increase young adults' risk of gum
disease, a problem typically associated with aging.

As part of a long-term health study, a team led by researchers at the
Dunedin School of Medicine in New Zealand followed about 900 people
born in 1972 and 1973 to assess the effects of marijuana on
periodontal disease.

While it is well known that cigarette smoking and spotty use of
dental services are risk factors for gum problems that can lead to
inflammation and eventual tooth loss, the role of marijuana alone had
not been examined previously.

The researchers divided participants into three groups: About 33
percent did not smoke pot, 47 percent smoked fewer than 40 times per
year, and 20 percent smoked more than 41 times per year, beginning at
age 18. All had dental checkups at age 26 and 32.

Overall about 42 percent showed some signs of periodontal disease at
32. After controlling for dental checkups, tobacco use and presence
of plaque, researchers found that about 24 percent of the heaviest
smokers showed some signs of gum problems, compared with 11 percent
of infrequent users and 6 percent of those who did not smoke pot.

The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, also found that heavy cannabis users were more likely to
be men of lower socioeconomic status who visited the dentist infrequently.