Cannabis smoking has become much more common (and acceptable) in recent years. Recreational marijuana is legal in twenty states, and medical marijuana is legal in thirty-six. According to the CDC, 18 percent of Americans used marijuana in 2019. 1 It is estimated that about 90 % of users smoke it. 2 Smoking may negatively affect the mouth, teeth, and gums. Negative effects include periodontitis (gum disease), caries (tooth decay), xerostomia (dry mouth), a decreased salivary pH (increased acidity), and an increase in the density of Candida albicans (yeast infection, thrush). 3 This post will only discuss dental problems associated with the legal smoking of marijuana by adults; I will not touch upon other routes of ingestion of marijuana or its effects on any other part of the body other than the mouth.
Read MoreI spend so much time talking about the dangers of processed carbohydrate consumption, I have neglected to talk much about the elephant in the room, cigarette smoking. I think I just assumed that people understand the perils of smoking. Perhaps I was mistaken. Keep in mind that cigarette smoking is different from vaping. But if you are a smoker, are you aware of how bad it is for your body? Your Mouth? Read on if you are curious.
Read MoreI am a proponent of using botanicals to help treat numerous conditions. Allicin from garlic and sulforaphane from cruciferous are two great examples of botanicals that are effective in treating a variety of illnesses. Many websites cite them as home cures for dental abscesses. I did a quick search on the web and found 27 home cures for dental infections. I searched PubMed for studies supporting claims that any of the 27 could cure dental infections. The research, sadly, did not support these claims. Today I am going to give a short primer on the three types of dental infections to explain why I was not surprised by the fact that, in most instances, they will have little to no effect.
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