The effects of oral medications on the peridontium - Essay Example

The gums firmly enclose the teeth around their exposed portion or the neck. Gingival enlargement or hyperplasia occurs as an undesirable side effect of some drugs such as corticosteroids, tetracycline, phenytoin, ibuprofen, cyclosporine and calcium channel antagonists. This can lead to misalignment of the teeth resulting in cosmetic problems, cause problems with eating, speech and impede effective tooth cleaning. Gingival enlargement thus needs to be treated either locally or with the aid of therapeutic dental strategies.

The two major diseases of this region are Gingivitis and Periodontitis which can be triggered by either poor oral hygiene leading to bacterial infection and plaque formation, or as a result of drug induced side effects. Risk factors for the prevalence of drug-induced gingival overgrowth include age, and gender, with young people, and males being more susceptible. 1. Tetracycline’s: This group of drugs is a broad spectrum antibiotic and has a propensity to leave residues in bones, teeth and their associated structures.

They are also widely used as adjuncts in the broad spectrum antibiotic coverage in periodontal disease. Systemic use of this class of drugs leads to the inhibition of orthodontically induced root and alveolar bone resorption. This occurs because of the additional effect of Tetracycline’s in exerting an anti inflammatory action which prevents collegenolysis (Golub et al., 1984). The destruction of collagen is an essential step in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. In a study conducted in rats by Mavragani et al, (2005) it was found that Doxycycline exerts a significant inhibitory effect on root resorption and alveolar bone distraction in rats. 2. Phenytoin: This is an extensively used anti epileptic drug and its usage leads to gingival enlargement in almost 50% of the patients which usually requires surgical intervention.

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