No abstract

Oral conditions were studied in 48 children and adolescents who, during short or long periods, had been assigned to anti-epileptic drug treatment with carbamazepine or phenytoin. The individuals were diagnosed as suffering from partial seizures or generalized tonic-clonic seizures and were distributed between three test groups according to the drug selected for treatment; patients on active carbamazepine (I) or phenytoin (II) medication, and patients previously treated with phenytoin (III). Untreated, newly diagnosed epileptics served as controls. The results showed that individuals treated with carbamazepine for an average of 3 years displayed no intra-oral side-effects from the drug treatment. Compared with those on carbamazepine medication the subjects treated with phenytoin demonstrated a significantly greater number of gingival units with increased probing depths, lower saliva secretion rates and lower salivary buffer capacities. In all groups a majority of the individuals showed unsatisfactory plaque control. As a consequence of the results of the investigation it appears justified, from a dental point of view, to support carbamazepine as the first drug of choice for treatment of the types of seizures mentioned.

Retrospective estimations of dental care costs of periodontal and prosthodontic treatment and evaluation of oral health in 37 patients with advanced periodontal disease were carried out. Measures of their subjective evaluation of oral health 7-10 yr after the treatment are presented as a health profile and as indices in single numbers. The relations between oral health as an index and the dimensions in the health profile are analyzed. Dental care costs for treatment in the mandible was SEK 35 550, for the maxilla SEK 45 380 and for both jaws SEK 74 230. After the treatment oral health as well as general health were in excess of 75 on a 0 to 100 scale. Chewing ability, comfort and aesthetics were the variables found to significantly affect the subjective oral health. Oral health in terms of periodontal and prosthodontic conditions was maintained over the observation period.

– The aim of the study was, due to two recent reports about gingival and mucosal lesions, to survey the frequency of intraoral side effects in connection with sodium valproate treatment in epileptics. All patients on this drug treatment available at the University Hospital in Linköping, Sweden ‐ in all 10 children, aged 8–14 ‐ with absence seizures (simple petit mal), and treated for 1 to 4 yr, constituted a treatment group. Untreated age‐matched, newly diagnosed epileptics constituted a comparison group. In each individual the oral hygiene state, gingival and periodontal condition, mucosal condition, caries prevalence, saliva secretion rate, salivary buffer capacity and lactobacillus count were estimated. The results revealed no divergences in the treated as compared with the untreated individuals which could be regarded as intraoral side effects deriving from the drug treatment

Severe periodontal disease expressed by several clinical and radiographic parameters was more prevalent among subjects with CHD than among controls. Analysis, the factor periodontal disease experience groups 4+5 gave an odds ratio of 5.74 (2.07-15.90) for having CHD after controlling for smoking and age.