Often, because periodontal disease is a bacterial infection, we choose medications to supplement the treatment.
After assessing the level of disease and the treatment options that can help, a medication may be prescribed or used clinically. Below are some examples of these medication types.
Local delivery antimicrobials.
Since bacteria like to live under the gums, especially in patients with gum disease, it sometimes makes sense to deliver medications that disrupt or kill them.
These medications are not for everyone and every disease type. Most of these medications are used in conjunction with or after scaling and root planing, a deeper kind of cleaning. The drug companies suggest the result of deep cleaning is improved with their usage.
Each patient's particular situation must be evaluated to determine if this kind of therapy provides value.
In more advanced cases of gum disease, these medications may not address the damage done and other treatment choices may provide a better value. Choosing therapy that is less effective just because it is cheaper may actually increase the overall cost of controlling and correcting the damage from gum disease.
PERIOCHIP is a small, orange brown, rectangular chip (rounded at one end) for insertion into periodontal pocket. It contains a substance, which is effective in killing bacteria in the gum (2.5 mg Chlorhexidine gluconate).
After scaling, PerioChip is inserted into the pocket and the active ingredient takes effect in killing the bacteria. The chip itself dissolves naturally; hence there is no need for an additional visit to the dentistry to remove it.
It is recommended to attend a follow-up visit after three months to check whether any further treatment is required.
ARESTIN® (minocycline HCl) is an effective antibiotic treatment that comes in powder form. This powder is placed inside infected periodontal pockets just after the dental professional finishes the scaling and root planing (SRP) procedure. ARESTIN® powder contains "Microspheres," which are tiny, bead-like particles that are smaller than grains of sand and are not visible to the eye. The Microspheres are filled with the antibiotic minocycline, and they release the drug over time into the infected periodontal pocket, killing bacteria that live there
An evaluation might be scheduled to evaluate the success of treatment and other treatment may be necessary in more advanced cases.
ATRIDOX® (doxycycline hyclate) 10% is an antibiotic gel that is placed into your gum pockets where bacteria thrive. Atridox® then quickly hardens to a waxlike substance, slowly releasing the antibiotic to the infected area for seven days.
An evaluation appointment may be scheduled to evaluate the result and possibly consider further treatment.
Oral Antibiotics
Since some gum diseases are bacterial infections, sometimes antibiotics are used to treat it. Normally, this is done in conjunction with other therapy like scaling and root planing.
As each patient's infection may be different, occasionally bacterial samples are collected and sent to a lab for study. This allows a more specific use of antibiotic effectiveness.
As gum disease does damage to the bone and gum around teeth, antibiotics alone do not control the disease or stop the infective process. Other therapy may be indicated and an evaluation appointment is normally scheduled to determine the success of therapy.
Periostat® (doxycycline hyclate) is available by prescription and has been developed to be used in conjunction with scaling and root planing. Research has shown that it is also important to suppress your body's overproduction of gum- and tissue-destroying enzymes that are part of the infection process. Periostat® is the first medication that works by reducing the activity of the enzymes that destroy tooth and gum tissue. It is normally take twice a day and is prescribed for several months. Then an evaluation appointment is used to determine the changes and discuss other treatment necessary.
