Long-Term Use Of Marijuana May Cause Gum Disease, But No Other Major Ailments, Says Study

Marijuana continues to be a controversial substance, something that could do bode good and not. It is something that is up for debate and a topic that needs to be addressed in the presidential debates though a new study links it to something that could harm oral care.

Marijuana comes with lots of effects, mostly harmful in the minds of many. And the latest study from Arizona State University reveals that long-term weed smoking may eventually result in gum disease, appending a previous finding that associated it with cognitive decline.

The research team was led by Madeline H. Meier as the team asked a group of 1,037 New Zealanders aged 18 and 38 to share their personal marijuana habits. The group would alter on look for correlations between prolonged pot smoking and about a dozen other common health measures which covered blood pressure, the lungs, body mass index and waistline measurement.

The results of the study were published in JAMA Pscyhiatry which in all indicated that long-term marijuana use may increase the likelihood of developing periodontal, or gum, disease, but no other medical conditions noted.

“We can see the physical health effects of tobacco smoking in this study, but we don’t see similar effects for cannabis smoking,” said Meier in a statement.

While the effects that marijuana carries to the probable occurrence of periodontal disease seems to be credible, it does show little effect on how it can effect an individual in the physical health aspect.

Adding factors like tobacco to the mix, it was here where researchers found how marijuana through adulthood would affect people’s oral conditions.

"Anything you smoke heats up your gums and causes inflammation and inflammation is bad for your teeth," said Terrie Moffitt, of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

With consideration to marijuana use, Moffitt adds that it is not a big public health problem for the moment despite the fact that it is closely associated with mental health or social mobility issues.

"If the proportion of people who are likely to use cannabis were to increase, many problems associated with it would naturally increase as well," she adds.