Valsartan
Angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)
Brand names: Diovan
Oral health effects
Dry mouth
Xerostomia reported; angioedema much less common than with ACE inhibitors.
Clinical management: Hydration, salivary support, caries prevention.
Dizziness on standing (orthostatic hypotension)
In heart-failure trials, postural dizziness (2% vs 1%) and postural hypotension (2% vs 1%) were more frequent on valsartan than placebo.
Clinical management: Raise the chair back slowly at the end of the appointment, let the patient sit upright for 1–2 minutes before standing, and steady them as they get up. Take extra care in older patients, after long supine procedures and when other blood-pressure-lowering drugs are taken.
Sources
- A Guide to Medications Inducing Salivary Gland Dysfunction, Xerostomia, and Subjective Sialorrhea: A Systematic Review Sponsored by the World Workshop on Oral Medicine VI. Wolff A, Joshi RK, Ekström J, et al. Drugs in R&D, 2017.
- Adverse drug events in the oral cavity. Yuan A, Woo SB. Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology, 2015.
- Valsartan prescribing information (FDA label) Northwind Health Company, LLC / DailyMed, 2026.