Impact of Antidepressants on Periodontal Health:A Pilot Study

Periodontal disease is an immune-inflammatory response of tooth supporting structures to microbial dental plaque. It is influenced by various factors such as poor oral hygiene, smoking, systemic diseases and psychological factors like stress, depression, anxiety. This study investigated the impact of antidepressant drugs on periodontal health. A total of 52 subjects were included in this case control study those were suffering from severe depression(HAMD Score≥16) for more than 1 year. In this 26 subjects were on antidepressants (case group) and rests were not taking any drugs for depression (control group). Periodontal examination was done to measure oral hygiene index, gingival index, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level. Values for debris index, calculus index, gingival index, mean probing depth and clinical attachment level were 1.74±0.56, 1.62±0.53, 1.49±0.51, 3.15±0.84, 4.31±1.25 and 1.69±0.56, 1.30±0.63, 1.33±0.71, 3.10±0.89 in the case group and the control group respectively. A Univariate analysis was performed using software for statistical analysis. Values for all the parameters were significantly high in case of depression patients taking antidepressants in comparison to patients not on drugs (p<0.05). Within the limits of this study it is possible to conclude that there was significant impact of antidepressants on periodontal health.