THE PREVALENCE AND SEVERITY OF CYCLOSPORINE AND NIFEDIPINE-INDUCED GINGIVAL OVERGROWTH

The gingival health of 32 renal transplant patients who were medicated with cyclosporin was compared with a similar cohort of 23 renal transplant patients medicated with both cyclosporin and nifedipine. Both groups of patients had been taking the above medication for at least 3 months. Plaque scores, gingival inflammation and probing depths were similar for both groups. Patients medicated with the combination of nifedipine and cyclosporin had a significantly higher gingival overgrowth score (p = 0.046) when compared with the group receiving cyclosporin alone. The incidence of clinically significant overgrowth (i.e., overgrowth > 30% which would require surgical intervention) was similar in both groups. Gingival overgrowth was not related to cyclosporin dosage. It is concluded that patients taking cyclosporin or cyclosporin and nifedipine experience gingival overgrowth and that the severity of the overgrowth is greater in patients taking the combined therapy. The levels of plaque and gingival inflammation appear to be associated with this phenomenon.