Laser-Assisted Periodontal Management of Drug-Induced Gingival Overgrowth under General Anesthesia: A Viable Option.

Gingival overgrowth/hyperplasia can be attributed to several causes, but drug-induced gingival overgrowth/hyperplasia arises secondarily to prolonged use of antihypertensive drugs, anticonvulsants and immunosuppressants. The management is complex in nature considering the multitude of factors involved such as substitution of drug strict plaque control along with excision of the tissue to be performed under local anesthesia as outpatient. In the recent times, the patient's psychological fear of the treatment with the use of surgical blade and multiple visits has developed the concept of single visit treatment under general anesthesia incorporating a laser as viable option. The present case highlights the new method of management of gingival overgrowth.

Periodontal management of sturge-weber syndrome.

Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) is a sporadic disorder and is frequent among the neurocutaneous syndromes specifically with vascular predominance. This syndrome consists of constellation of clinical features like facial nevus, seizures, hemiparesis, intracranial calcifications, and mental retardation. It is characterized by focal port-wine stain, ocular abnormalities (glaucoma), and choroidal hemangioma and leptomeningeal angioma most often involving occipital and parietal lobes. The present paper reports three cases of SWS with oral manifestations and periodontal management, which included thorough scaling and root planing followed by gingivectomy with scalpel and laser in cases 1 and 3 consecutively to treat the gingival enlargement. However, the treatment in case 2 was deferred as the patient was not a candidate for periodontal surgery.

A randomized, double-blind clinical study to assess the antiplaque and antigingivitis efficacy of Aloe vera mouth rinse.

AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy of Aloe Vera mouth rinse on experimental plaque accumulation and gingivitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized, controlled, and double-blind study, a total of 148 systemically healthy subjects were screened in the age group of 18-25 years. Finally, 120 subjects were requested to abstain from oral hygiene (tooth brushing) for 14 days and used a specially fabricated plaque guard. Following cessation of tooth brushing in the specified area, the subjects were randomly divided into Group A (test group) who received 100% Aloe vera, Group B (negative control group) who received placebo (distilled water), and Group C (positive control group) who received 0.2% chlorhexidine. The rinse regimen began on the 15(th) day and continued for 7 days. Plaque accumulation was assessed by Plaque Index (PI) and gingivitis was assessed by Modified Gingival Index (MGI) and Bleeding Index (BI) at baseline (0), 7(th), 14(th), and 22(nd) days. RESULTS: There was statistically significant decrease in PI, MGI, and BI scores after the rinse regimen began in both Group A (test group) and Group C (chlorhexidine) compared with Group B. Mouth wash containing Aloe vera showed significant reduction of plaque and gingivitis but when compared with chlorhexidine the effect was less significant. CONCLUSION: Aloe vera mouthwash can be an effective antiplaque agent and with appropriate refinements in taste and shelf life can be an affordable herbal substitute for chlorhexidine.