Side Effects of Steroidal and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs on The Oral Cavity.

Abstract

Background and objectives: The steroidal and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used classes of medications for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects and are associated with the risk of many oral side effects and which might be presented with variable degrees of severity. The main objective of this research was to identify oral side effects that could be associated with using Steroidal or NSAIDs. Patients and Methods: A total number of 82 patients who were attending the teaching clinics at the College of Dentistry and were using steroids or NSAIDs participated in this study and they were interviewed and examined clinically for the presence of any abnormal oral presentation. The data were all recorded on a pre-designed questionnaire. The data was expressed as a percentage and analyzed statistically using ANOVA and t-test. Results: The data showed that a majority of NSAIDs users complained of gingival bleeding (39%) and Xerostomia (32%), while corticosteroid users complained of fungal infection (50%), gingival inflammation (25%) and other less frequent side effects. Drugs that were associated with the most oral side effects were aspirin, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and prednisolone. Conclusion: Data analysis showed that many oral side effects might be related to steroidal and NSAIDs. It is important to consider that drugs in general may cause oral side effects at different doses, dosage forms and durations of use and may have a variety of clinical presentation. The dentists have a crucial role in identifying these drug-related oral side effects through their clinical practices in order to provide the proper management for the patients. Keywords: Side effects, steroids, NSAIDs, xerostomia, Ulcers.