Ronni Brown, DDS, MPH, Resident Alum : A Visionary Transforming Care in Jails and Beyond

Uncovering Links to Meth Mouth

When Ronni Brown first looked into a patient’s mouth at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility, the incarcerated 20-year-old needed full-mouth extractions. “Every single tooth was blackened with decay,” she recalls. In case after case, a troubling pattern emerged: the devastating oral effects of methamphetamine use, a condition sometimes referred to as “meth mouth.” Her work in correctional facilities gave Brown a front-row seat to a crisis that her peers in private practice weren’t identifying. “I realized that perhaps my colleagues didn’t know what they were seeing,” she says. This discovery led her to pursue a dental public health residency at UCSF, where her groundbreaking research on what she’d observed became an essential resource, helping dentists worldwide recognize and respond to the oral implications of substance use disorders.

Caring for the Incarcerated

For 27 years, Brown provided emergency dental services to thousands of incarcerated individuals. “From the beginning, my focus was on ensuring that every patient felt cared for and understood,” she reflects. “In a place where uncertainty and stress are constants, it was important to create a safe space where they could receive the care they needed.” Her dental suite became a state model for correctional facilities. Now, as senior community health planner with San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Brown leads overdose prevention initiatives that build on her decades of experience working with vulnerable populations. “It is transformative work,” she says of her efforts to improve lives affected by substance use and reduce the associated stigma.

Humanizing Addiction in Dentistry

Brown has trained thousands of dental professionals internationally, equipping them with practical tools to identify substance use disorders and connect patients with resources. Her book, A State of Decay, makes her research accessible to professionals and the public. “I hope I’ve inspired the profession to understand the complexities of addiction and their role in treating it with compassion and care. I hope they see the person in the dental chair – not just a disease, but someone’s mother, father, brother, or sister.”