Background: Salivary secretory disorders can be the result of a wide range of factors. Their prevalence and negative effects on the patient's quality of life oblige the clinician to confront the issue.Aim: To review the salivary secretory disorders, inducing drugs and their clinical management.Methods: In this article, a literature search of these dysfunctions was conducted with the assistance of a research librarian in the MEDLINE/PubMed Database.Results: Xerostomia, or dry mouth syndrome, can be caused by medication, systemic diseases such as Sjögren's Syndrome, glandular pathologies, and radiotherapy of the head and neck. Treatment of dry mouth is aimed at both minimizing its symptoms and preventing oral complications with the employment of sialogogues and topical acting substances. Sialorrhea and drooling, are mainly due to medication or neurological systemic disease. There are various therapeutic, pharmacologic, and surgical alternatives for its management. The pharmacology of most of the substances employed for the treatment of salivary disorders is well-known. Nevertheless, in some cases a significant improvement in salivary function has not been observed after their administration.Conclusion: At present, there are numerous frequently prescribed drugs whose unwanted effects include some kind of salivary disorder. In addition, the differing pathologic mechanisms, and the great variety of existing treatments hinder the clinical management of these patients.The authors have designed an algorithm to facilitate the decision making process when physicians, oral surgeons, or dentists face these salivary dysfunctions.

Background: For the past two decades, studies have investigated the relationship between periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, low birth weight and preterm premature rupture of membranes.

Introduction:Gingival overgrowth has been linked to multiple factors such as adverse drug effects, inflammation, neoplastic processes, and hereditary gingival fibromatosis. Drug-induced gingival overgrowth is a well-established adverse event. In early stages, this gingival enlargement is usually located in the area of the interdental papilla. Histologically, there is an increase in the different components of the extracellular matrix.Objective:The aim of this manuscript is to describe and analyze the different cellular and molecular agents involved in the pathogenesis of Drug-induced gingival overgrowth.Method:A literature search of the MEDLINE/PubMed database was conducted to identify the mechanisms involved in the process of drug-induced gingival overgrowth, with the assistance of a research librarian. We present several causal hypotheses and discuss the advances in the understanding of the mechanisms that trigger this gingival alteration.Results: In vitro studies have revealed phenotypic cellular changes in keratinocytes and fibroblasts and an increase of the extracellular matrix with collagen and glycosaminoglycans. Drug-induced gingival overgrowth confirms the key role of collagenase and integrins, membrane receptors present in the fibroblasts, due to their involvement in the catabolism of collagen. The three drug categories implicated: calcineuron inhibitors (immunosuppressant drugs), calcium channel blocking agents and anticonvulsant drugs appear to present a multifactorial pathogenesis with a common molecular action: the blockage of the cell membrane in the Ca2+/Na+ ion flow. The alteration of the uptake of cellular folic acid, which depends on the regulated channels of active cationic transport and on passive diffusion, results in a dysfunctional degradation of the connective tissue. Certain intermediate molecules such as cytokines and prostaglandins play a role in this pathological mechanism. The concomitant inflammatory factor encourages the appearance of fibroblasts, which leads to gingival fibrosis. Susceptibility to gingival overgrowth in some fibroblast subpopulations is due to phenotypic variability and genetic polymorphism, as shown by the increase in the synthesis of molecules related to the response of the gingival tissue to inducing drugs. The authors present a diagram depicting various mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of drug-induced gingival overgrowth.Conclusion:Individual predisposition, tissue inflammation, and molecular changes in response to the inducing drug favor the clinical manifestation of gingival overgrowth.

AimsCerebral palsy (CP) is a chronic, nonprogressive disorder affecting movement, posture, and tone, caused by injuries in the central nervous system during the early stages of life. Patients with CP have swallowing disorders, which make oral feeding difficult and necessitate the use of external feeding devices. The objective of this research was to study the oral health status of pediatric patients affected with CP fed by either oral or enteral route.MethodsA cross‐sectional observational clinical study of the oral health of two groups of patients with CP, fed either orally or enterally (via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, PEG).ResultsPatients fed by enteral route via PEG presented lower caries scores (DMFT: PEG: 1.09, non‐PEG: 2.81) and higher percentages of supragingival dental calculus than the oral feeding group (PEG: 86%, non‐PEG: 57.6%).ConclusionOral health status differed in pediatric patients with CP fed enterally via PEG and those fed orally. Specific preventive measures in both groups will be required to minimize the risk of complications.