Pharmacotherapy Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 11, 03/30/2009

Question

Part 3: Can tetracycline or minocycline (Minocin®, Dynacin®, Solodyn™) induced teeth stains or discolorations be prevented or treated?

Answer

This is part 3 of a 3 part series.  For details about how tetracycline and minocycline (Minocin®, Dynacin®, Solodyn^TM) cause staining or discoloration of the teeth through different mechanisms, please refer to parts 1 and 2 of this series.  The overall prevalence of tetracycline induced staining has been reported to be 3-4% and 3-6% for minocycline.^1,2  This adverse drug reaction can obviously create psychological and esthetic concerns for the patient and should be taken into consideration.^1,3  So, is there anything that can be done to prevent this from occurring in patients receiving tetracycline or minocycline?