Medication Can Be Your Dental Nightmare

The man was advanced in age and had an unusual tooth decay

, which was a black hole found on the outside of one of his two front teeth. It turns out the man gagged on his heart medicine when he stuck the nitroglycerine tablets under his tongue where they're supposed to go so instead he stuck them under his top lip. The hole in his tooth was caused by the tablets.

It was pointed out by oral medicine experts that the every day medicines the common American takes can cause tooth decay and gum disease. According to the oral medicine experts, doctors might not have a clue that these dental side effects exist, and if they do know, they're not telling.

One piece of advice a dentist and pharmacologist gives to co oral specialists is that they should ask their patients about their medications. He wants dentists to ask how these medicines affect their patients' dental health as they go through each medicine.

Instructors at this week's ADA meeting have made a list of the top problems caused by these medicines. A side effect of calcium channel blockers is gum swelling, which can be found in 20% of patients who take these drugs. Gum disease and swelling are caused by the invasion of bacteria through the open pockets in gums brought by inflammation. Several of these medicines are taken by thousands of people.

Swelling is a side effect of amphetamines used to treat children's hyperactivity, as well as anti epilepsy drugs. Greater gum swelling is caused by a drug used for organ transplant patients, which is called cyclosporin. The inflammation caused by cyclosporin is similar to that of leukemia.

A side effect of radiation treatment for cancer, dry mouth is a side effect of hundreds of drugs. When people don't have enough saliva, they may suffer cavities, excess plaque, and fungal infections. The dentist would often contact the doctor of the patient and request that calcium channel blockers be replaced with another heart medicine because of the gravity of the problem.

Otherwise, plaque buildup must be strictly monitored and the trips to the dentist have to be at least once every two months. Another dentist pointed out that a clean mouth is all you need to prevent gum side effects. As long as there's no plaque, there's nothing to worry about, he said.

A photograph he showed is that of a Dilantin patient with gums so swollen that only the tips of the front teeth could be seen. Treatment of the gum pockets within 10 days is recommended by him for patients going on Dilantin to minimize the condition. The problem is not just confined to prescription drugs. Antacids, cough drops, and over the counter lozenges all contain sugar.

He is reminded of a woman who kept on having cavities. She rarely ate sweets and always brushed her teeth, so dentists were a bit confused. Then the receptionist observed her taking in pills, which turned out to be antacids which she consumed in large amounts a day.

by: timothyrs

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