Applications of corticosteroids in oral diseases: A review

Steroids being one of the most broadly used drugs in dentistry which readily act as immunosuppressive agents. Corticosteroids have modernized the treatment protocol of several disease conditions inclusive of many oral diseases. These are strong and effective anti-inflammatory drugs resembling cortisol (inherently formed hormone by the body). Their function is to decrease inflammation, particularly when the body inaccurately activates inflammatory system. Oral and maxillofacial disease may be either local or occur due to the expression of any systemic problem. There are many oral and maxillofacial clinicians who apply the usage of corticosteroids established on their effectiveness to control consequences of any dental procedure or surgery and also to produce and render a contented post-operative period. Hence, the present review highlights and focuses on the pharmacology, uses, contraindications and side-effects of corticosteroids application in oral diseases. © This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.