Incidence and severity of phenytoin-induced gingival overgrowth in epileptic patients in General Medical Practice

This investigation examines the incidence of phenytoin-induced gingival overgrowth in a population of epileptic patients who attend General Medical Practices for treatment of their epilepsy and compares the gingival changes with an otherwise healthy group of patients. The plaque score, gingival index, and gingival overgrowth did not differ significantly between the two groups (P > 0.05). A significant correlation was observed between plaque score and gingival overgrowth in the phenytoin-treated patient, but in this group there was no correlation between gingival overgrowth and salivary concentration of the drug. The overall incidence of clinically significant overgrowth (13%) is considerably less than in other studies.