WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s called “meth mouth”: a mouth filled with blackened, stained, rotted, crumbling teeth, frequently seen in methamphetamine addicts.

And as users of the drug fill county jails and state prisons, corrections officials say the cost of treating them is skyrocketing.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday to help ease the strain on prison dental budgets by providing federal grants and to launch an education program designed to warn young people about the dangers of meth by focusing on the severe dental problems the drug can cause.

“Literally, our dentist will be working on somebody and teeth will fall out of their mouth,” said Whatcom County Jail Chief Wendy Jones. “(Meth mouth) has been a significant problem,”

Between 2002 and 2006 the jail’s dental budget has increased 164 percent, from $8,800 in 2002 to $22,380 in 2006, Jones said.

“That is due almost exclusively to meth mouth,” she said. Dental visits themselves have also increased, from 124 in 2000 to 402 last year. Jones expects the budget to increase again this year.

Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo said people who are covered by Medicaid, Medicare and certain veterans’ benefits are eligible for dental and medical care while they’re on the street.

“But as soon as they’re in jail they’re cut off, and it becomes a burden on the public to pay (their medical bills),” Elfo said.

To ease that burden, Elfo said the jail will often push for a court order to temporarily release inmates so they can go back on their medical coverage. He said sometimes these inmates will be released for as little as two hours, in order to seek medical care outside the jail.

This method is less than ideal, he added. Several years ago, before Elfo became sheriff, an inmate on temporary release for medical care robbed a bank.

Dr. Pat Murphy, a dentist at the state reformatory in Monroe, estimates he has treated more than 2,000 cases of meth mouth.

“It’s been one of the worst headaches and nightmares over the past 10 years,” he said. “Our

resources are tremendously strapped.”

Meth use can cause a string of dental conditions that, when combined, can result in the need for dentures in addicts in their late teens and early 20s.

“Meth is a chemical cocktail that literally rots your teeth away,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, DEverett., co-chairman of the House Meth Caucus. “It takes a terrible toll on the body.”

The drug dries up saliva, which is crucial to fending off bacteria and tooth decay. People who are high or “tweaking” may not eat for three or four days and eventually can develop a sugar craving that results in consuming dozens of soft drinks in a day. Meth abusers also can have uncontrolled muscle actions that result in grinding or clenching their teeth.

Teeth can be reduced to blackened stubs in less than a year.

At a news conference, congressional aides displayed four blown-up color pictures of a meth addict’s mouth.

“When you look at these pictures, you have to wonder why anyone would do meth,” said Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla.

Les Blumenthal covers issues about Washington state from the McClatchy Washington, D.C., bureau. He can be reached at lblu menthal@mcclatchydc.com. Reach Cat Sieh at cat.sieh@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2236.