Oral Lesions in Crack and Cocaine User Patients: Literature Review

Since the 1960s, drug consumption has become a global concern, due to its high frequency and the risks it can cause to human health. Studies have shown an increase in the number of drug users with oral lesions resulting from drug consumption and also a lack of knowledge on the part of dental surgeons with regard to the subject. It is important for professionals in this area to have the knowledge needed to diagnose the emergence of possible alterations that can occur as a result of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug consumption. In light of this, the aim of this paper was to identify and describe the main oral lesions associated with the use of crack and cocaine, via a review. For the data collection, searches were carried in out the BIREME, EBSCO, PubMed, and Medline databases, by cross-checking the following descriptors: Cocaine/Crack AND Oral Manifestations AND Oral health, in English and Portuguese. 42 articles were found in the BIREME database, 24 in PubMed, and seven in EBSCO, totaling 73 articles. After carefully reading the abstracts found in all the databases, 12 articles were used to conduct this study. It can be concluded that crack and cocaine use contributes to an increase in the prevalence of lesions of the oral mucosa. The main diseases found in the users of these drugs were periodontal problems, cavities, lesions in the oral mucosa, and the ability that these substances have to cause alterations in the genetic material of the DNA. There was an observed need for dental surgeons to have the knowledge to treat these diseases, since they may be the first people to carry out the patient diagnosis.