"It’s not like I’m an alcoholic or an addict or something"

     "in 2010, in the UK, one study reported that approximately 15% of dentists may have an alcohol problem. These numbers occur in a cultural context in which, the pop culture icon, Matt Groening, founder of the Simpsons, once stated, “here's to alcohol: the cause of, and answer to, all of life's problems.”
     It’s this paradox about alcohol and drugs that leads many people to remark, “I can handle it,” “It’s not a big deal, I don’t have a problem,” “It just calms my nerves,” and “I don’t drink (do) that much, it’s not like I’m an alcoholic or an addict or something.”
     These near cliché comments are echoed around the country by patients, dental faculty, dental students, dental staff and dentists. The social paradox that drugs and alcohol can help and hinder our lives is what may keep many from seeking out, securing and maintaining assistance and/or intervening in the lives of others or ourselves.
     Yet, dental students should get involved in assessing alcohol or drug use for patients, self, and peers because of its serious links to: hypertension, anxiety, depression, suicide, gastric and duodenal ulcers, poor diet, blackouts, hallucinations, premature aging, cirrhosis of the liver, cell death and shrinkage of brain cells and it’s a risk factor for oral cancer."

Stuart Schrader, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Behavioral Sciences
Dept. of Oral Biology
Indiana School of Dentistry 

Photo: P. Michael Lovas