I have tried speed and some ecstasy. With both drugs my partner and myself experienced lots of jaw grinding and teeth mashing. It just seems to come upon us and it is hard to stop yourself doing it. I even know of a guy who ground his jaw so much after a weekend on speed, he could only eat custard and icecream for the next couple of days, his jaw was that bound up! What is it in the drugs that causes this phenomena?

 

From THE FACE, No.36 Jan 2000:

The Department of Dental Sciences at Liverpool University showed that a sample of ecstasy users suffered eight times the wear on the rear molars than a sample of non- users. The difference is attributed to prolonged grinding of the teeth.

LH Mair, senior lecturer at the Department of Dental Sciences, University of Liverpool

'I wouldn't say it was conclusive that ecstasy is the predominant cause for teeth wear, because the users we sampled were probably on other drugs as well. But there's no doubt MDMA is a contributory factor. It affects the posterior molars, while the front teeth are relatively unaffected until way down the line, when you discover problems of sensitivity. MDMA isn't to blame - it's the amphetamine element, which leads users to clench and grind for twelve to 24 hours. Plus they're probably drinking fizzy drinks to alleviate thirst, which have a corrosive effect on account of the carbonic acid. But it's hard to quantify the effect of Ecstasy on teeth. Alcoholics experience teeth wear, too, because they get ‘gastric reflux': stomach acid comes back up and corrodes the teeth. Bulimics have the same thing. it's not just ravers'
Reproduced without permission

 

See also our report on research done on Ecstasy and teeth grinding
'The occurrence of toothwear in users of Ecstasy'

 

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