Einhorn Omer Moshe
Chronic medication usage is a major component of the medical diagnosis of patients. Nowadays, some of the most common diseases such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes and etc., are treated with drugs which cause a variety of oral side-effects including gingival overgrowth and appearance of lesions on the tissues of the oral cavity. As such, drug-induced oral reactions are an ordinary sight in the dental practice. This review will point out the main therapeutic agents causing gingival hyperplasia and other pathologic lesions in the oral cavity. Some frequently used medications, in particular antihypertensives, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and even antibiotics, can lead to overgrowth of the gingiva and to the multiple unwanted conditions, namely: lupus erythematosus, erythema multiforme, mucositis, oral lichen planus, pemphigus vulgaris and more.
