Antimicrobial Therapy as Adjunct to Periodontal Treatment: Effect of Timing
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
It is common practice to carry out the therapy of periodontal diseases in two phases. In a
first, non-surgical phase, bacterial deposits on tooth surfaces (plaque and calculus) are
removed using a cleaning method called "scaling and root planing" (SRP). After three to six
months the case is evaluated and, if necessary, further treatment is provided, usually taking
a more aggressive, surgical approach. Beneficial effects of adjunctive systemic antibiotics
on clinical outcomes have been shown repeatedly but specific indications for antibiotics in
subgroups of diseased patients, and the optimal timing of antimicrobial therapy, continue to
be issues of a long lasting controversy.This study assessed the differential outcomes of
periodontal therapy supplemented with amoxicillin-metronidazole during either the
non-surgical or the surgical treatment phase.