Diana Howsare

Eshenaur, A. (2017). Adverse effects of medication use. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, 15(12),

39-42.

This article is about how medications can affect patients oral cavity. A large portion of the

US population takes at least one medication, and many people take more than one. This can have

a variety of implication in the oral cavity including but not limited to, xerostomia, oral

ulcerations, taste alteration, lichenoid reactions, mucositis. Each of theses effect then go on to

cause more complications, so it is important to review medications with patients so you can

recognize side effects and treat them accordingly.

This article was interesting to read because of the volume of medications many of my

patients have had. We’ve discussed in class why it is important to go through patients

pharmacological histories, and this follows right along with that. It gives many types of drugs

like antihypertensives and antidepressants that can have oral effects, but also talks about why

these medications cause these effects which was interesting to learn. I’ve seen a lot of

medications that have effects like xerostomia, but I didn’t know as much about the effects like

ulcerations and mucositis. One thing I wish they would have included is dental effects that aren’t

necessarily just in the oral cavity but that can effect dental treatment all the same. Because the

article was titled “Adverse Effects of Medication Use,” I figured they would talk about more

than just intra-oral effects. Things like orthostatic hypotension and muscle weakness are also

adverse effects of medications that also effect our treatment.