ABSTRACT
Drug abuse is a major public health problem. The prevalence of drug users in 2022 is around 1.95% (3.66 million people). Methadone Therapy Program (PTRM), a drug-dependence medical treatment, causes oral manifestations in treated patients. PTRM patients receive treatment with antidepressants which work as salivary flow inhibitors that promote xerostomia. Decreased salivary secretion affects several essential aspects of life quality, such as speaking, chewing, and food swallowing. It also increases the risk of rampant caries. This study assesses xerostomia's effect on PTRM patients’ oral health (OHrQOL). Conducted using a cross-sectional design, this study's independent variable is xerostomia and the dependent variable is OHrQOL. Data were processed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Partial Least Square (PLS) smart software. Xerostomia is a subjective dry mouth complaint asked through a questionnaire. Of the 26 respondents, 13 (50%) reported dry mouth. SFR measurement showed the result of 13 people was <0.3 (hyposalivation). OHrQOL was measured using the OHI-P 14 questionnaire, which consists of three latent variables: functional limitation, pain, and psychological impact. Caries status, oral hygiene status, history of HIV infection, SFR, age, methadone dose, level of education, duration of methadone use, and the number of cigarettes smoked explain 48.09% of the functional limitation variable, 61.42% of the pain variable, and 58.42% of the psychological impact variable. The SEM approach using Partial Least Square (PLS) explains the OHrQOL variables quite well, although not all variables have considerable influences.
