[Organ transplant patients' complex periodontal treatment]

The number of organ transplant patients has increased in recent years. The Cyclosporin-A (CsA) has been used at least for 20 years to control graft rejections. As many organ transplant patients also take Ca channel blocking medication this might potentiate the CsA associated gingival hyperplasia. The outcome of the comprehensive periodontal treatment was evaluated in 14 kidney and liver transplant patients. If gingival overgrowth showed no marked reduction after thorough professional supra and subgingival plaque control either gingivectomy or flap surgery were indicated. The average age of the organ transplant patients was 38 years. 10 was man and 4 female. The daily dose of CsA ranged between 150-200 mg, and each patient took also Ca channel blocking drugs, 5-20 mg/day. S/RP alone was successful in two cases. Gingivectomy was performed in 10 cases and flap operation was indicated in two cases. Among patients with high compliance and excellent individual oral hygiene no recurrence occurred, while two patients with very low level of oral hygiene showed immediate gingival overgrowth after surgery. It is supposed that dental plaque is an important contributing factor in the development of drug induced gingival overgrowth and meticulous plaque control should be one of the most important treatment modalities in controlling drug-induced gingival changes.