Drug Induced gingival overgrowth

Review by Kris Hendricks

(sorry it's board time--time to study articles, not write about them)

authors: Dongari, McDonnell, Langlais

Published in Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology in October 1993

The point:

Certain Anticonvulsants, Cyclosporine, and other calcium channel blockers have been shown to produce gingival enlargement in susceptible patients.

The pharmacologic mechanism seems to be similar at the cellular level, but these drugs act on different target tissues.

The hyperplastic response is not well understood, but it could be from an alteration in collagen metabolism and other host cell response mechanisms.

Treatment:

Until science can provide more insight into this, treatment should consists of plaque control, professional debridement and resective gingival procedures.

My take:

There seem to have been several board questions over the years that have emphasized drug induced gingival enlargement.