Not even flossing will help with this oral outbreak.

Dentists in Snohomish County, along with others around the country, are running into a growing problem of “meth mouth” – rapid tooth decay caused by using methamphetamine. The latest side effect of the dangerous and popular homemade drug may be less detrimental than its other health risks – like death – but it sure is ugly. Perhaps danger to one’s good looks can serve as a greater deterrent to potential meth users than life-threatening health risks.

Methamphetamine, both through vapors and powder, equates to a mouthwash of acid and nasty chemicals. Medical research is inconclusive, but doctors believe that the drug restricts salivary glands, drying teeth. As the mouth is unable to neutralize meth’s poison, teeth become brittle and crumble into decaying stubs, often causing the former pearly whites to simply fall off. But this isn’t a problem that a swig of Listerine can combat – dentists see little hope for salvaging meth-tarnished bicuspids.

For young teens testing the vapors of crank: consider the implications. Want a job someday? How about a Friday night date? Good luck, when you show up with a shattered and incomplete row of surly-browns, complete with tender, bleeding gums. You won’t be grinning ear-to-ear with that gaping grill.

Meth mouth isn’t a problem that takes many years of drug use to develop, either. Many users in their teens and 20s have needed entire mouth makeovers to fix the damage they have done to their chops. This isn’t just braces or retainers, either. We’re talking orthodontic overhaul and the permanent loss of your own teeth.

Meth use has grown exponentially in recent years, wafting into high school hallways and family homes. The highly addictive drug, which can be smoked, swallowed, snorted or injected, has so many health concerns that the Canadian government on Thursday extended the maximum sentence for meth traffickers to life in prison.

Beyond an ugly, dilapidated mouth, let’s review a few of meth’s known health risks:

* Altered breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.

* Mood swings, including depression, anxiety and paranoia.

* Severe withdrawals.

* Convulsions.

* Respiratory, heart or circulatory failure.

* Coma or death.

Parents, law enforcement and lawmakers have long touted these vicious drawbacks of methamphetamine to discourage prospective users.

These days, even the mouths of meth users are preaching plenty about abstinence.