Dentist Should Be Put In The Know Regarding Your Medications
The dentist was not expecting to see such a large black hole on the elderly man's front tooth.
The man was not at comfortable sticking his heart medicine under his tongue, so he put it under his upper lip instead. The hole in his tooth was formed because of them.
It was pointed out by oral medicine experts that the every day medicines the common American takes can cause tooth decay and gum disease. Many doctors either don't know about these dental side effects or don't warn patients, the specialists said.
A dentist and pharmacologist at the University of Buffalo stated that they persuade dentists to inquire about the medication that their patients take. He said you need to scrutinize each medicine and think about how it can affect their dental health.
Oral medicine specialists, who taught classes at this week's ADA meeting on recognizing drug side effects, said the top problems include the following facts.
Around 20% of those who take calcium channel blockers also have gum swelling.
Gum disease and swelling are caused by the invasion of bacteria through the open pockets in gums brought by inflammation. These medicines are some of the biggest selling drugs around.
Similar swelling is caused by anti epilepsy drugs, and some amphetamines used to treat hyperactivity in children.
Another drug, cyclosporin, is used by organ transplant recipients and can cause massive gum overgrowth. The inflammation of the gums has the same appearance as the inflammation caused by leukemia.
Cancer patients experience dry mouth from radiation treatment, and dry mouth is a side effect of more than 400 drugs.
Since not enough saliva can pose as a dental problem for people, those who suffer from lack of it may need topical fluoride treatment.
The problems are serious enough that the dentist will ask doctors to switch patients with swollen gums from calcium channel blockers to another heart medicine if possible.
There has to be strict plaque control and frequent trips to the dentist otherwise. Keep the mouth clean, and there will be no need to worry about gum side effects, another dentist advised.
If no plaque can be found in the mouth, then there's nothing to worry about, he said.
The only visible part of the front teeth of the Dilantin patient in the photo he showed was the tips because of swollen gums.
Treatment of the gum pockets within 10 days is recommended by him for patients going on Dilantin to minimize the condition.
There are other things to be concerned about aside from prescription drugs. Sugar can be found in cough drops and lozenges.
He cited a woman who repeatedly had new cavities throughout her mouth. Dentists were confused by what they saw because they knew that the woman made tooth brushing a habit, and hardly ate sweets.
She later on admitted that she sucked on three packs of antacid a day.
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