Abstract

SOLORZANO NAVARRO, Eduvigis; DAVILA BARRIOS, Lorena  and  PREMOLI MAFFEZZONI, Gloria. In vitro study on the effects of cocaine on the hard tissues of the tooth. Rev Cubana Estomatol [online]. 2008, vol.45, n.3-4, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-297X.

The use of cocaine derivatives is an increasingly growing public health problem. These drugs are frequently rubbed on the gingival mucosa, but their efffects are little known and difficult to be diagnosed. This paper pretends to prove in vitro that the rubbing of cocaine on the dental surface produces enamel erosion. 30 healthy teeth were selected and distributed at random into 3 groups that were rubbed cocaine hydrochloride, bazuko and lemon (control group) on the vestibular surface, respectively, during 40 weeks. The most observed characteristic lesions were fracture and loss of the dental hard substance, which showed that the topical and continual application of drugs on the oral cavity causes lesions in the hard tissues of the tooth.

Keywords : cocaine; basuco; bazooko/bazuko; erosion; enamel; dentin; cement.