Abstract

Periodontal disease is a prevalent chronic inflammatory condition associated with established risk factors such as smoking and systemic diseases, including diabetes. However, the relationship between recreational drug use and periodontal disease remains insufficiently explored despite the rising prevalence of substance use. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the association between periodontal disease severity and recreational drug use among patients seeking periodontal treatment at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. Electronic health records of 6,928 patients were analyzed, including self-reported drug use and periodontal evaluation data. Periodontal disease severity was inferred from the frequency of periodontal evaluations and treatment history. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed, adjusting for age, gender, and smoking status, while diabetes was excluded due to lack of statistical significance. The results showed that 86.5% of subjects had no periodontal evaluations, while smaller proportions had one or more evaluations. Marijuana use demonstrated a trend toward statistical significance (p = 0.071, OR = 0.855, 95% CI [0.721, 1.013]) but did not reach a definitive association with periodontal disease severity. Within the limitations of this study, cannabis use was not significantly associated with periodontitis, although a suggestive trend warrants further investigation.

Keywords

periodontal disease, cannabis, recreational drug use, marijuana, periodontitis, risk factors, electronic health records, retrospective study, smoking, oral health