The dental management of patients with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (manic depressive disease) affects 1% of the United States population. These persons suffer from prolonged episodes of extreme elation and depression. There is a significant incidence of dental pathosis and a need for dental care among these patients. The medications used for the treatment of this disease, their physiologic effects, and their interactions with the drugs used in dentistry are reviewed.

Quitting marijuana.

Marijuana quitters, continuing users and never-users were compared. Never-users are found to be more conservative, traditional, and strongly identified with their parental role models. Continuing users are more unconventional, involved in risk-taking behavior, and lacking a stable identity. Quitters are intermediate in cultural attitudes and stance. They have the highest rate of determined ego identify, but have more often reported problems with intimacy and have more often sought help for emotional problems. Three types of quitters are identified: the experimenter whose use was a social accident, the ex-rebel who used marijuana during the post adolescent stage of psychosocial moratorium, and the emotionally fragile individual for whom marijuana was psychologically threatening.