The purpose of this paper is to review the causes and describe the appearance of drug-induced gingival overgrowth, so that dental hygienists are better prepared to manage such patients. Gingival overgrowth is caused by three categories of drugs: anticonvulsants, immunosuppressants, and calcium channel blockers. Some authors suggest that the prevalence of gingival overgrowth induced by chronic m...

BACKGROUND Gingival overgrowth was reported as a side effect after chronic administration of several drugs, which, despite their different pharmacological effect, seem to have the gingival mucosa as a secondary target. The thickness of the gingival epithelium and fibrosis in the lamina propria are unspecific changes that together determine the enlargement of the gingival mucosa, but the molecul...

Many terms have been used to describe gingival overgrowth. The expression gingival hyperplasia (“abnormal increase in the number of normal cells in a normal arrangement in an organ or tissue, which increase in volume”) and gingival hypertrophy (“enlargement or overgrowth of an organ or part due to an increase in size of its constituent cells”) have been also used, although gingival overgrowth i...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Hereditary gingival fibromatosis is characterized by various degrees of attached gingival overgrowth. It usually develops as an isolated disorder but can be one feature of a syndrome. A case of a 38-year-old female is reported who presented a generalized severe gingival overgrowth, involving the maxillary and mandibular arches and covering almost all teeth. The clinical differen...