Taking Anabolic Steroids Enlarges Your Muscles… And Your Gums Too!

Posted In: Health & Medicine, Steroids

Anabolic steroids do not only bulk up the bodies of bodybuilders and athletes but also pump their gums.

According Dr. Onur Ozcelik and his colleagues from Cukurova University, the overgrown gums make it easier for bacteria in plaque to accumulate, placing steroid users at risk for severe gum infection.

The study compared the gums of 24 body builders who had been using anabolic steroids for less than one year with 20 body builders who had never used steroids. All participants were between the ages of 17 and 29. Gum thickness, encroachment of gum tissue onto teeth, and other measurements were rated on a scale from 0 (normal) to 3 (worst).

After the study, the team found out that steroid users have significantly enlarged gums but they did not have more plaque underneath their gums.

From medpage today:

The overgrown gums make it easier for bacteria in plaque to accumulate, placing steroid users at risk for severe gum infection, said Onur Ozcelik, D.D.S., Ph.D., and colleagues of Cukurova University here in the July issue of the Journal of Periodontology.

The gingiva is affected by sex hormones, and clinical changes in periodontal tissue have been observed during puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and with the use of oral contraceptives, Dr. Ozcelik and colleagues said.

Compared with their steroid-free counterparts, the steroid users were found to have:

1) significantly thicker gums (an average score of 1 versus 0.3; P<.001).
2) more gingival encroachment onto teeth (an average score of 0.9 versus 0.2; P<.001).
3) more overall gingival enlargement (average score 0.9 versus 0.3; P<.001).

The research team said that because it is not known if the gingival enlargement would also regress after the withdrawal of anabolic androgenic steroids, so dentists and periodontists have to be familiar with the potential side effects of anabolic steroids to the gingival tissues.

Interesting stuff!!!!

1. New Pill to Replace Many Anabolic Steroids
2. The Schrotenboer Report of Anabolic Steroids in NFL Football
3. How Long Do Steroids Remain Detectable In Your System?