title: Local chemotherapeutics as an adjunct to scaling and root planing.
abstract: Gingival diseases are the most widely held diseases in America. In some patients, periodontal disease appears in a generalized form, but more often it appears in localized areas. Furthermore, after treatment with scaling and root planing (SRP) in generalized cases, the disease is often reduced to a few local areas in the patient's mouth. Since periodontitis is a bacterial infection with known pathogenic microorganisms, the local delivery of antimicrobials has been considered to be a possible solution for treating and controlling localized forms of periodontal disease. Three current local chemotherapeutic agents are reviewed in this paper: doxycycline gel, chlorhexidine chip and minocycline microspheres. With the advancement of local drug delivery systems, clinicians and their patients have new alternatives for treatment of periodontal disease.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Army Dental Activity, Fort Benning, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Breault
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Spadar
mesh_terms: D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D012534:Dental Scaling; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D008911:Minocycline / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016745:Root Planing
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D005782:Gels; D008911:Minocycline; D004318:Doxycycline; D002710:Chlorhexidine