periodontal disease (periodontitis)

Nifedipine is a calcium blocking agent of the dihydropyridine group widely used as a vasodilating agent for the treatment of hypertension and ischemic heart disease. Gingival enlargement is a known side effect of nifedipine use. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of periodontal disease and gingival enlargement in nifedipine treatment patients. Methods and Material: In a cross sectional study data from 16 patients taking nifedipine were compared with those of 20 patients with cardiac disorder who had not been treated with nifedipine. All patients were examined for the presence of periodontal disease and gingival enlargement using 3 different indices: Periodontal index (Russel), Plaque index (Silness and Loe) and gingival overgrowth index (GO) (Miller and Damm). Between the nifedipine and control groups, there was no significant difference for age, sex, PI (Russel), and PI (Silness & Loe). But prevalence of gingival overgrowth and its severity were greater in the anterior and inferior teeth in the nifedipine group (P=0.05). Prevalence of clinically significant overgrowth related to chronic medication with nifedipine is low. Severity of hyperplasia induced by nifedipine directly depended on the level of education and oral hygiene.