New Zealand study finds smoking marijuana increases gum disease risk

Heavy smokers of marijuana are more likely to suffer from gum disease that eventually leads to tooth loss, according to a New Zealand study that followed 903 people.

Earlier studies had shown that smoking pot increased the risk of lung disease and of mental health problems, but this is the first study to link it to increased risk of gum disease. Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand followed 903 people born in 1972 and 1973.

The researchers assessed use of cannabis in these people at ages 18, 21, 26, and 32 years. All 903 participants had dental check-up at ages 26 and 32.

The researchers divided the participants into three groups; those with no exposure to cannabis numbered 293, while 428 people reported some exposure to it. The last group had 182 people with high exposure to the drug.

The researchers found that heavy cannabis smokers had three times the risk of developing gum disease as opposed to non-smokers. Tobacco smoking was also taken into consideration before collating the results because tobacco is also known to cause gum disease. Some 29 percent of the heavy marijuana smokers developed gum disease.

“The study's demonstration of a strong association between cannabis use and periodontitis experience by age 32 years indicates that long-term smoking of cannabis is detrimental to the periodontal tissues and that public health measures to reduce the prevalence of cannabis smoking may have periodontal benefits for the population," the authors led by Dr r W. Murray Thomson wrote.

The details of the study appear in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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