Does prednisone make gums bleed more easily?
Posted , 9 users are following.
Just got back from a check-up at the dentist and everything passed with flying colors except for the gums. They bled easily when probed with that "pointy" tool they use.
The dental technician was puzzled because I had none of the symptoms that normally go along with bleeding gums (such as plaque).
Thinking about it afterward, I'm wondering if prednisone could be the cause. I know that pred users bruise easily. Can that logic be extended to bleeding easily?
I'm currently at 4.5mg daily using DSNS from a starting dose of 40mg two and a half years ago.
0 likes, 8 replies
BettyE richard07199
Posted
I did not experience any dental problems while on Prednisolone but I did, for the first time in my life, have a couple of nosebleeds that required having blood vessels cauterised.
diana21296 richard07199
Posted
No problems with gums but horrendous nosebleeds till I got down to 12mg. They then petered out thankfully as they freaked me out and the Drs who knew nothing about it couldn't give me an answer. It was the pred thinning the skin inside the nose.
Misha452 richard07199
Posted
I was just at the dentist yesterday and my gums were bleeding easily which has never happened before. I’ve been taking prednisone for PMR/GCA for 3 1/2 years and I’m currently on 5 mg.
richard07199 Misha452
Posted
Misha,
Looks like you and I had the same experience on the same day.
It kind of makes sense that if pred thins the skin, one would bleed more easily when poked with that sharp instrument that the hygeniest tortures you with. She told me that she could see no plaque but there may be some hidden under my gums, and that's her explanation for the bleeding.
I wish that I had figured out the pred explanation for this problem before I laid out $68 for a Waterpik water flosser. I'll just have to think positively, and consider it a good investment in dental health.
Anhaga richard07199
Posted
No gum bleeding, but some gum recession which dental people and I attribute to pred as it appeared within months of starting pred.
Michdonn richard07199
Posted
Hi Richard, I have had the same problem and have had it for the 3 years on Prednisone. I figure just another one of the lovely side effects. Now down to 3.5 tapering to 3, it will be interesting to see at what level the bleeding stop. I don't seem to be getting as many spots of bleeding under the as I was. Here's hoping!🙂
richard07199 Michdonn
Posted
Yeah, I have the feeling that it's a little mentioned side effect of pred: - that you bleed more easily. I'm saying that based on a sample size of 5. (You, me, Betty, Diana and Misha.)
I wonder if the effect is a result of the current dose of pred one is taking or the total dose since starting. I say that because I'm at only 4.5mg, but I've taken a lot of the stuff cumulatively over the last two and a half years, having started at 40mg per day.
Thanks for responding, Michdonn.
EileenH richard07199
Posted
Probably.
But if the hygienist doesn't SEE anything - she has at least investigated any potential pockets I trust?