The Association between Consumption of Opium and gum Inflammation in 15 -75 Years Old People in Kerman in 2010

Introduction and Drug abuse including opium has extended all over the world and in Iran. Considering the 17.1 % prevalence of heroin abuse in a village in Kerman and 3.5% prevalence of opium addiction in Kerman and also non-official reports from visitors to medical practices it seems that the periodontal disease is prevalent among patients who are high-addict. There is few studies in this field, Therefore this study aimed to investigate the effect of opium as an independent risk factor for developing periodontal diseases, including gingivitis. The study was a cross-sectional survey which was conducted in 1390 in Kerman by random Sampling. Samples were enrolled in the test group (468 subjects) and control group (227 subjects). Gingival health indexes of CPI and GI were measured. Data SPSS v.20, Mann Whitney test and Chi-square analyzes were performed. The two groups were matched for age, gender, education, smoking, brushing behaviors and visiting by dentist (P >0.05). Gingival bleeding and periodontal diseases in the control group had lower scores than the study group which indicates a low level of oral health among drug users. The use of opium is associated with gingivitis and dental problems and affects negatively on oral health, although more epidemiological studies are needed in this field.