Study links marijuana smoking to gum disease

[The Scientist]

The people claiming this study is bogus without any evidence are just as bad as the gov't in the way it denies science.

I'm glad others are starting to come out and say what I'm sayin. I was beginning to doubt this place. ; )

 

[The Scientist]

When you get cottonmouth, your mouth becomes an ideal breeding ground for bacteria! When your mouth is dry, it doesn't "flush" the bacteria away down your throat. Then the bacteria throw an orgy! Bacteria = tooth decay and gum disease.

However, the "cure" is easy! Just have a non-sugary beverage to drink when you toke! No cottonmouth = no bacteria orgy = no problem! Those dudes must have been real idiots! Not smart enough to take a drink when they are thirsty!
- Granny (as I sip some stevia sweetened tea)

I remember someone telling me about stevia, then vaguely remember reading an article about its mutagenic properties...but never confirmed that. The holistic woman pushing it on me denied the claim of course. I haven't looked into it enough though but it sure tastes great !

 

[Haps]

I accept facts I do not like every day. But lame is lame, and this is a lame article, if there are facts, let us see them in the light.
H

 

[Verite]

Gee anyone ever thought that perhaps the lot of kiwi dentists are shit? Tends to dismiss an entire study right there. Combine that with the fact that only 60% of kiwi's drink flouridated water and lo and behold you get statistics that point to higher rates of gum disease. Imo the study loses all credibility in the first sentence, 'smoking marijuana MUCH LIKE smoking tobacco'.

Believe me if there was something definative and scientifically provable regarding the health dangers of using marijuana the US govt would have discovered it and flaunted it in our faces long ago. They have been researching and studying MJ seriously for 70 years to find and exploit its flaws to further demonize its place in the world. After 70 years they still have nothing.

 

[_angst_]

Citing JAMA?
LMAO

 

[Sammet]

The angry responses to any research that paints cannabis in a negative or neutral light are getting old. If you want to critique a piece of research on methodological grounds (which is the primary shortcoming of every cannabis research article I have read, namely poor controls and inappropriately small sample sizes), awesome--do it, and do it well. I empathize with the rage directed at what amounts to government sponsored propaganda (Kiwis in this case), but don't take it out on the messenger. We have to stay current on the propaganda if we are to effectively dispel the myths.

PS: What's the sample size of one mad IC member stating "I've smoked everyday for years and my teeth are fine"? I'm stoked your gums and teeth are healthy, but the statement suffers from the same methodological problem as the Kiwi's study.

that's funny how people will automatically claim that the study is bullshit and there are no facts when they have absolutely nothing to base it on. these people had scientific research and im sure the people that conducted the research have pretty good credentials. let's see all of your credentials... oh ya you have none, and are in no way qualified to say whether this is right or wrong.

im not saying the study is definitely right, but for someone to instantly call it bullshit with nothing to base their opinion on is pretty stupid. where is your research? and just cuz it didn't happen to you that isn't valid research, you can't make generalizations about everyone based on your own experience. you are only 1 person


btw, i got a newsflash for you people, smoking is not good for you. doesn't matter if you're smoking tobacco, or weed, or anything else, inhaling smoke is bad. so don't get so upset over the simple suggestion that smokin pot could have some negative side-effects. of course tobacco is a hell of a lot worse than weed but nobody said it isn't.

Did you two read the whole thread? Or even read the paper?

Here's a link to the Journal article rather than that sexed up news piece.

Cannabis Smoking and Periodontal Disease Among Young Adults

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299/5/525


The deeper inhalation and prolonged contact and absorption time associated with cannabis smoking suggests that it may also be a likely candidate in the etiology of periodontal disease. Investigating such an association is challenging because of the confounding potential of concurrent tobacco smoking...

...Although the usual method of smoking cannabis in New Zealand is not to mix it with tobacco,12 we cannot be absolutely certain that this was the case for all participants.

So the article talks about tobacco causing gum disease yet goes on to say that some of their participents smoke both tobacco and cannabis at the same time, almost 50% including current smokers and ex-smokers, and that non-tobacco cannabis smokers may also mix their cannabis with tobacco. That's pretty interesting.

However, it's not new to associate smoking with gum disease. If they did a study of people who smoked any substance over a prolonged period of time I'm sure they would find the same results.

 

[guineapig]

I am waiting to complete a root canal, and i haven't noticed any irritation around the gums......vaporization simply does not seem to irritate the gums whatsoever, and the lungs seem to feel fine as well.....

Let me say that first of all, the media are amazingly stupid when it comes to interpreting scientific data......so the first thing to do is to get a hold of the actual study and compare its findings to the article written by some dumb reporter.....

Secondly, if the problem is not in the reporter's faulty translation, check the "results" section of the scientific paper and the "discussion" section......many times, inconclusive data is skewed and twisted to that a certain outcome is "proved" when really the researcher has simply come to the conclusion that he/she deemed appropriate, especially considering MOST OF THESE STUDIES ARE FUNDED BY ANTI-CANNABIS FOUNDATIONS.......

A huge amount of junk science was produced in the 1970s that claimed cannabis causes all sorts of horiffic ailments.....these scientists were eventually laughed out of the laboratory by their colleagues, and their studies were exposed as complete fraud and distortions of data.....

So, get the actual study and read it for yourself.......always!!! Only then can you make an informed judgement regarding the use of cannabis.....

kind regards from guineapig

 

[Sammet]

Guineapig - please read the post above yours, it contains the link to the paper and mention of the limitations from the discussion section.

 

[socioecologist]

Is the Outrage Unwarranted?

Is the Outrage Unwarranted?

Did you two read the whole thread? Or even read the paper?

Yes to both questions from me--you will never find me jumping into a conversation without having done the legwork. I guess I don't understand why you would ask a question like that. Regardless:

First, Thompson et al.'s "high [cannabis] exposure group" contained 182 of the study's participants (roughly 20% of the total). This is too small of a sub-sample to make any type of generalization from their findings, though they claim (wrongly) that it applies to both New Zealand and the United States in a general sense. To make such a claim--and to throw in the "United States"--seems a little strange.

Second, for all its sophistication, the study relies on self-reported information regarding tobacco use, dental visits, cannabis use, and respondents' socioeconomic status. This is addressed in the paper, but always poses reliability problems (despite what they claim).

Third, the study also fails to account for potential issues of spuriousness that could be associated with respondents' diet. If you are going to study periodontal disease, investigating the food consumption patterns of your respondents would be the first place to start.

You have to understand that as far as studies goes, this is a pretty good one. They started with a decent sized sample (~1000) and used a cohort approach--this is very expensive, time consuming, and--frankly--generally much more reliable than cross-sectional studies. They used rigorous and appropriate statistical procedures. With a couple exceptions, they did not try to overstate their findings. AND their findings make sense (though must be tempered by the shortcomings listed above):

"The periodontal effects of tobacco smoke are thought to occur via the systemic effects of nicotine and other toxic constituents on immune function and the inflammatory response within the periodontal tissues. Cannabis contains more than 400 compounds, including more than 60 cannabinoids; the noncannabinoid constituents are similar to tobacco (except for nicotine), and those have been reported to carry systemic health risks and have histopathological effects that are similar to those of tobacco smoke.21-22

Although definitively establishing the periodontal effects of exposure to cannabis smoke should await confirmation in other populations and settings, health promoters and dental and medical practitioners should take steps to raise awareness of the strong probability that regular cannabis users may be doing damage to the tissues that support their teeth."

 

[Sammet]

The reason I asked is because I mentioned similar facts to the ones you stated above, just on the previous page, that's all

 

[socioecologist]

Several people did, to which the trolls responded "Nu Uh, I'm smokin' a pound a day and my teeth are fine!". Just trying to lend some support. Cheers,

 

[Echoes]

I am not a troll. I'm simply stating that from personal experience I've had no trouble whatsoever with my gums and I've never met anyone who has that smokes cannabis. I certainly do question this study and I think everyone should. I don't believe it to be 100% accurate or 100% false, but I feel that circumstances in another country could be a contributing factor and I also feel that more information is needed.