Evaluation of The Awareness of Medical Practitioners About Drug-Induced Gingival Enlargement: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Objective: Gingival enlargement is a clinical condition characterized by hyperplasia and hypertrophy, which has an etiology of inflammation originating from dental plaque, hormones, genetics, malignant or benign lesions, and drugs. The drugs causing gingival enlargement include anti-convulsants, calcium channel blockers, immunosuppressants, and high-dose oral contraceptives. This study aimed to investigate the awareness of specialist and practitioner medical doctors about the drugs causing gingival enlargement. Material and Methods: A total of 100 respondents participated in this questionnaire study. A self-reported questionnaire was formed to evaluate the awareness of the study participants about drugs causing gingival enlargement. The questionnaire was prepared online using Google forms and was introduced and distributed on the social networks of Facebook and WhatsApp. Results: % 27 of the respondents reported that anti-convulsants caused gingival enlargement, followed by immunosuppressants at the rate of 23%, calcium channel blockers at 19%, and oral contraceptives at 11%. Although there is no consensus in the literature that antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) cause gingival enlargement, 9.2% of the study respondents reported that antibiotics caused gingival enlargement, 4.3% NSAIDs, and 5.4% antidepressants. Conclusion: In studies evaluating the awareness of healthcare personnel about drug adverse effects, it has been shown that personnel have knowledge on this subject, but do not report this at a sufficient level. The results of this study suggest that specialist and practitioner medical doctors had insufficient awareness about drugs causing gingival enlargement.