[Oral hygiene in subjects treated with diphenylhydantoin: effects of a professional program]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate, on a longitudinal basis, the effectiveness of a specific preventive dental program for patients who are taking phenytoin for seizure control. The results confirm that a preventive dental program, consisting on frequent prophylaxis and plaque control, is effective in minimizing clinically gingival enlargement associated with phenytoin therapy, even in patients who present histological aspects of gingival hyperplasia.