The Effect of Substance Abuse on Oral Health

Most people are aware that abuse of substances such as alcohol and drugs can cause a number of physical and mental health problems. Alcoholism and addiction can lead to heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cancer, depression, anxiety, and dementia.

Some drugs can have a devastating effect on teeth and gums, and because many addicts do not practice good oral hygiene means that tooth decay and associated problems are quite common. Addicts often suffer from conditions such as gingivitis, chronic tooth decay, and cracked teeth. Unfortunately, very few of them will seek help from a dentist and will just ignore the problem.

Oral Hygiene

People who become addicted to substances such as alcohol or drugs tend to think of nothing but their need for the substance to which they have become addicted. They often neglect their personal hygiene and grooming, and oral health will certainly not be on top of their agenda. Many do not eat healthily, and alcoholics, especially, tend to get most of their calories from alcohol.

With such poor oral hygiene, it is no surprise that many addicts and alcoholics suffer pain in the mouth. Nevertheless, true to form, they tend to self-medicate with either alcohol or drugs instead of seeking help from a qualified dentist.

Teeth and gums can be further aggravated by vomiting, which is often a common side effect of substance abuse.

Tooth Decay in Alcoholics

Alcoholic beverages are generally quite high in sugar, which can lead to tooth decay, especially in those who are failing to brush their teeth regularly. Alcoholics often spend little time worrying about their personal or oral hygiene and many tend to go for long periods without brushing their teeth. This means they are prone to tooth decay and gum disease.

Meth Mouth

Meth mouth is a condition caused by the drug methamphetamine. Users of this drug tend to suffer from rotten, broken and discoloured teeth. This illegal drug can cause a dry mouth because it stops the saliva glands from producing saliva. This means that acid from food and drink erodes the enamel on the teeth and because addicts tend to neglect their oral hygiene, their teeth suffer even more. The highly corrosive ingredients found in methamphetamine cause extreme tooth decay and can also result in sores in the mouth.

How Stimulant Drugs Affect the Teeth

Those who are addicted to illegal stimulants such as cocaine, amphetamine and ecstasy tend to grind or clench their teeth while intoxicated. This often results in the teeth being ground down and cracked. When teeth are cracked and damaged, it can lead to further problems in the mouth, including root and gum damage. Teeth can become loose and may need to be removed. Stimulant drugs also result in dry mouth, and those who abuse these drugs also tend to drink alcohol or sugary soft drinks, exacerbating tooth decay.

The Effect of Heroin on the Teeth

Heroin has a devastating effect on the teeth and gums of those addicted. Heroin addicts often fail to practice any oral hygiene, resulting in serious problems such as severe tooth decay, gum disease, snapping teeth and mouth trauma. This tends to be due to the sugary food and drink diet that they have because of the drug as well as the fact that they will usually neglect to brush teeth.

Alcohol and drugs cause many problems, but the effect on oral health can be devastating.

About Middlegate - Alcohol Rehab London

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london alcohol rehabs as well as greater lodnon drug rehabs.

We also provide advice all across the UK, and world-wide, and our only aim to to get people with alcohol or drug misuse problems, the best help available in order to help them get well as quickly as possible.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

The Importance of Addiction Treatment for Pregnant Women

Addiction is a continuing problem all across the UK. It affects people of all ages, gender, and social economic background. The majority of those with addiction will require treatment to get better, but many continue their destructive path for a number of years before considering getting help. A large number of addicts are fearful of rehabilitation and they will refuse to accept help. It is only when faced with a life or death situation or an ultimatum from family members that the affected individual will consider rehabilitation as an option. Many women with addictions cannot, or will not, even stop upon discovering they are pregnant; this is because the compulsion is just too strong and they are not in the right frame of mind to consider the wellbeing of the new life growing inside them.

However, some women will want to do all they can for their unborn baby and will try to get help when they find out they are pregnant.

How Will the Unborn Baby Be Affected?
Many pregnant women who have been heavily using drugs or alcohol before finding out they are pregnant will worry about how their baby will be affected. This will usually depend on how heavily the mother has been using drugs or alcohol as well as the type of drugs or alcohol being used. Although the growing baby can be affected by drug and alcohol use, there is also a chance that the baby will be born healthy, especially if the mother can get treatment as soon as possible and spend the rest of her pregnancy in sobriety.

What Treatments are Available?

One of the problems pregnant addicts face is the fact that many of the treatments available to non-pregnant addicts are unsuitable for those carrying a child. If the pregnant woman has a severe addiction, the treatments that would typically be offered would be far too intensive for use during pregnancy.

Detox, for example, can be extremely dangerous for pregnant women. If the woman has been addicted to opioid substances such as heroin or some type of prescription medication, she could suffer serious withdrawal symptoms including seizures and even heart attacks.

Many treatment centres do not offer treatment to pregnant women because they do not want the liability of caring for such a complex case. Nevertheless, there are organisations where pregnant addicts can receive the help needed. Middlegate Addiction Help is a free service with information and advice on where pregnant addicts can find suitable treatments in their area.

It is important for pregnant women to get help as soon as possible as the earlier a woman can quit addiction within a pregnancy, the greater the chance of her baby being born healthy.

Things to Consider

When a woman discovers she is pregnant, many thoughts typically run through her head such as whether or not she is ready to become a mother. For an addict, there may be many more things to consider. It is essential that she has a good place to live and that she can financially support the child, either with or without the father involved.

If medical professionals have advised you that your baby is likely to be healthy and if you believe you can provide your child with a good home and upbringing, then you should continue with your pregnancy and get the treatment you need to stay sober. You will need plenty of support throughout from family and medical professionals. Middlegate can put you in touch with a suitable organisation but can also provide you with support and advice as and when you need it. Call today to see how we can help you.


If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london rehab clinics as well as greater london drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

How Rehabilitation May Be Sabotaged by the Addict

Getting an addict to accept that he or she needs help for their problem can be tough. Many do not want to hear from loved ones that they need professional treatment for an illness they do not think they have. Some will become aggressive or defensive at the mere mention of addiction while others will just avoid getting into any discussion that revolves around drinking or taking drugs.

However, there will come a time when family members can break down the defences of their loved one and may be finally able to get through to him or her. This is generally when the addict is open to the idea of a sober life; this often occurs after behaving badly or while suffering from a bad hangover. During these periods, it may be possible to get a loved one to agree to get help for addiction.

This can seem like a monumental victory for family members; they have finally managed to get their addicted loved one to get help and for them it seems as if life is about to get back on track. If you are in this situation, it is important that your loved one has agreed to get help for the right reasons and not just to get you off his or her back.

Fear of Failure

Your loved one may be reluctant to enter rehab for fear of failing. He or she may not want to get help for addiction and, if they feel as though they have been forced to attend, they may do everything in their power to sabotage their treatment. Below we have listed a few ways in which treatment can be sabotaged by an addict:

1. The addict spends his or her time doing anything other than getting help for the problem. This could be playing video games, texting friends, surfing the web, or watching TV.

2. The addict pretends to pay attention when really he or she is just going through the motions with the counsellor to keep family members happy.

3. The addict is resentful of the fact that he or she is in rehabilitation instead of being with drug-taking or drinking friends and is unwilling to put in any effort.

4. The addict wallows in self-pity and fails to commit to the programme of rehabilitation. He or she blames others for the way life has turned out instead of taking responsibility for their actions.

5. The addict acts as if he or she knows better than the counsellors who have been trained to help them.

6. The addict spends his or her days glamorising the past when they were drinking or taking drugs.

Can You Help an Addict Who Doesn’t Want Help?
It is important that your loved one understands that treatment could save his or her life. You cannot force a loved one to get help for addiction no matter how much you want to. Unless you can get through to them about how rehabilitation is in his or her best interests, you could be fighting a losing battle.

You may want to get a qualified therapist or counsellor to speak to your loved one about the benefits of treatment. Taking him or her to a rehab centre where they can see how the programme works may be the solution. Your loved one must be ready to make a change in order to get the most from treatment.

Be realistic in your expectations and remember that this may not be the right time for your loved one to enter rehab. If you force the issue, you could find that this person is simply biding his or her time until he or she can get back to feeding their addiction.

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london rehab clinics as well as greater london drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

Who Will Look After Your Kids While You Are In Rehab?

If you have been struggling with alcohol addiction for a long time and have made the decision to get help, you will probably be advised to enter a residential treatment programme. This type of programme has a high success rate because of the intensive treatment provided. However, for single parents, the decision to get inpatient treatment can be a difficult one, especially if you are worried about who will look after your children.

You may be aware that it is in yours and your children’s best interests to seek help for your addiction, but you may feel as though you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Your addiction may be ruining your life and having a detrimental effect on your children but you may feel as though leaving them even for a short period could be traumatic. So what are your options?

Think Carefully

Although you may be worried about the effect it will have on your kids, the reality is that leaving them for a while will undoubtedly be less traumatic than them continuing to live with your addiction. Left untreated, your addiction will simply get worse and could have a devastating impact on your health. Imagine how traumatic it would be for your children if they were to lose you to this illness. It is better to get help now than to have them live with the consequences further down the road.

Family Help

If you want to get better then you will need to think about childcare arrangements for the time you will be in rehab. You may be worried about asking family members for help, but you might be surprised at their willingness to lend a hand. It may be that the other parent will be willing to take the children until you are well enough to have them back, or maybe their grandparents on either side could help.

If you have siblings or close friends, they could all take turns helping with looking after the children for you. At the end of the day, they will want to make sure you get the help you need and will more than likely want to do all they can to make this a reality.

Foster Care
If you do not have family members or close friends to call upon to help take care of your children, then foster care may be an option. This may not be something that you want to consider, but you may have little choice if you want to get better. It is important to realise that foster carers in the UK have been very carefully vetted before being approved. Their backgrounds have been thoroughly checked, and you can rest assured that your children will be in safe hands. Both carers and social workers will look them after during their time in care; in many cases, foster care is the perfect solution.

In almost every situation, it is preferable for children in care to return to their birth families, so the foster carers and social workers will work closely with you to ensure that your kids are returned to you as soon as you are well enough to take them back.

Outpatient Treatment

If you really do not like the idea of putting your children in care and have no one else to take care of them, it may be worth looking for a good outpatient programme where you can attend therapy during the day while your children are at school or nursery.

For help and information on the best treatment centres for your requirements, call Middlegate today. We can provide free, independent advice as well as assessments and referrals based on your individual circumstances. We are here to help, and your wellbeing is our priority.

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london alcohol rehabs as well as greater lodnon drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.

This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here

How Alcohol Addiction Can Destroy Lives

Alcohol addiction is a major problem in the UK. The global recession has led to a number of people suffering financial hardship and facing growing amounts of debt. This financial strain can be hugely stressful, and, therefore, many individuals are self-medicating with substances such as drugs and alcohol.

What may have started as a glass of wine at the end of a long day could have developed into a bottle of wine every night when the kids are in bed. Some will find that they spend much of their waking hours either drinking or thinking about when they can get their next drink.

Once they have become tolerant to the effects of alcohol, they will require more and more to experience the same feelings; this is when addiction has become a problem. Many people do not even realise they have developed a dependency on alcohol until they try to give it up and start suffering withdrawal symptoms.

Why Do People Drink Alcohol

Alcohol addiction affects individuals of all ages, regardless of gender, background, or race. There are various reasons why people drink alcohol, but it is a socially acceptable vice in most countries. Most drink alcohol in moderation, but there are a number who drink alcohol to excess and develop addictions.

Alcohol addiction occurs when someone loses control over the amount of alcohol he or she drinks. Those affected become dependent on alcohol and cannot function without it. Many drink to blot out the pain of a previous experience or loss. Others drink because it helps them cope with the stresses of everyday life.

How Alcohol Addiction Affects Family Life

As well as having a detrimental effect on the person with the addiction, alcohol addiction also negatively affects their family members. Living with an alcoholic can be extremely stressful, with many family members admitting that they are living in constant fear of how their addicted loved one will behave. They may also be fearful of conflict as alcoholics can often become aggressive and violent.

Children of alcoholics may experience feelings of sadness, loneliness, despair, and exclusion. They may be embarrassed that their mum or dad acts the way they do and will avoid bringing friends home for fear their situation will be discovered. These children are often neglected and have to learn to fend for themselves from a very young age. This can cause numerous problems in later life.

Alcohol addiction can also cause a number of health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, infertility, pancreatitis and some forms of cancer. Those with severe alcohol addictions can do irreversible damage to their liver and are unable to get a liver transplant because of their addiction.

Home life is often damaged beyond repair too, with many marriage breakdowns resulting from one spouse’s addiction. Those who suffer from an addiction may become self-absorbed and will have little time for others, including their loved ones. They may neglect relationships with their spouse or partner and with their children.

Alcohol addiction can affect a person’s ability to work and, therefore, financial hardship typically follows, leaving the family in an even more precarious position. It is not uncommon for family life to completely break down because of one person’s addiction to alcohol.

Help is Available

It is important that those with an addiction to alcohol get the help they need as soon as possible. Middlegate is here to provide free advice and support to those who need it. We work with addicts and their families to ensure they get access to the treatments that could turn their lives around. If you or a loved one needs help for addiction, contact Middlegate today.

If you need help in the london area, then please contact us for information on the latest information on places in london alcohol rehabs as well as greater lodnon drug rehabs, Through our alcohol rehab clinic.


This article originally published at Middlegate Blog here