title: Are anti-inflammatory agents effective in treating gingivitis as solo or adjunct therapies? A systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Systematically review the scientific evidence for efficiency of anti-inflammatory agents against gingivitis, either as solo treatments or adjunctive therapies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A protocol was developed aimed to answer the following focused question: "Are anti-inflammatory agents effective in treating gingivitis as solo or adjunct therapies?" RCTs and cohort studies on anti-inflammatory agents against gingivitis studies were searched electronically. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment were conducted. The primary outcome measures were indices of gingival inflammation. A sub-analysis was performed dividing the active agents into anti-inflammatory and other drugs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search identified 3188 studies, of which 14 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The use of anti-inflammatory or other agents, in general showed a higher reduction in the test than in the control in terms of gingival indexes and bleeding scores. Only two RCTs on inflammatory drugs could be meta-analysed, showing a statistically significant reduction in the GI in the experimental group [WMD = -0.090; 95% CI (-0.105; -0.074); p = 0.000]. However, the contribution of both studies to the global result was unbalanced (% weight: 99.88 and 0.12 respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the tested material showed beneficial effect as anti-inflammatory agents against gingivitis, either as a single treatment modality or as an adjunctive therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Polak
authors.forename: Conchita
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sanz-Sánchez
authors.forename: Nurit
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beyth
authors.forename: Lior
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shapira
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000628:therapy; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D057747:Periodontal Debridement / Q000379:methods; D010512:Periodontal Index
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents
keywords: adjunctive therapy; anti-inflammatory; gingival index; gingival inflammation