[Hormonal contraceptives and periodontium]

The clinical changes of the gingiva reported in the literature (gingival hyperplasia and new growths like the pregnancy epulis) in connection with oral hormonal contraception as well as the causal connection between sexual hormone activity and the changes of gingiva and oral mucosa are discussed. Our own experiments show that the increase in the sulcus fluid flow rate under administration of combination preparations is largely independent of an increase in the degree of gingival inflammation.