Evaluation of the Effect of Amoxicillin and Metronidazole as Treatment Adjunct to Dental Scaling and Root Planning in Chronic Periodontitis Patients

Abstract

Introduction & Objective: Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of the tooth supporting tissues by a specific group of microorganisms, leading to progressive destruction of the periodontal ligament. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of amoxicillin and metronidazole as an adjunct, after scaling and root planning in reducing pocket depth and clinical attachment loss in chronic periodontitis (moderate to severe) patients. Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial randomized control study, scaling and root planning were performed for 30 chronic periodontitis (moderate to severe) patients.15 patients were given amoxicillin 500 mg and metronidazole 250 mg every 8 hours for 7 days as an adjunct after scaling and root planning, For 15 other patients only scaling and root planning were per-formed. Probing depth and clinical attachment loss were measured in each group in base line and were compared 1 month before and after scaling and root planning. Statistical analysis was done using a paired t-test, ANOVA and by SPSS16 software. Results: Mean pocket depth and clinical attachment loss in the test group compared to control group, 1 month after the intervention was not statistically significant(P=0. 082, P = 0.540). Conclusion: Amoxicillin and metronidazole as an adjunct to scaling and root planning do not have a significant impact on reducing pocket depth and clinical attachment loss over one month after treatment in patients with chronic periodontitis.

Keywords

• amoxicillin
• dental scaling
• metronidazole
• periodontitis
• root planning