Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the oral health behaviors in women with addiction history.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in women drug treatment centers under the supervision of Welfare Organization of Tehran province in Iran. Data collection process was conducted in three centers including a questionnaire with an interview format, clinical examination, and Chi-Square test and MANOVA for statistical analysis.

Results: The mean age of 95 women participating in this study was less than forty, whereas the age of starting drugs was twenty two. A majority of the patients were unemployed (71%) and more than that of two-third did not have a diploma education. Almost half of dentate participants had never or rarely brushed their teeth. Most of them had never used dental floss, while more than half had three or more times snacks or sweet drinks and more than three-fourth were daily smokers. The MANOVA analysis showed that the type of clinic to be visited, age, used stimulant, drug dependency length, the last time a dentist being visited and the brushing period had a statistically significant relationship with Decayed Teeth (DT), Missing Teeth (MT) and Filled Teeth (FT) (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Women with the prior drug addiction history had an unpromising oral health status which was obvious in their self-perceived oral health. Taking the appropriate preventive and therapeutic actions aiming for promoting oral health status of them seems to be necessary.