The oral health status of drug addicts. A prison survey in Lille, France.

The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of decayed, missing and filled teeth among the inmates of the jail of Loos (France) and to assess the impact of drug addiction, especially heroin, on these parameters of oral health. A representative sample was selected and two groups were compared: heroin addicts and non-drug addicts. The same dentist examined 93 inmates, males and females, from age 16 to 35. The results found a significant difference of DMFT index between the groups, with a higher value of DMFT for the heroin users. This investigation also highlighted atypical caries lesions among the heroin addicts.