Evidence-Based Considerations for the Clinical Use of Locally Delivered, Controlled-Release Antimicrobials in Periodontal Therapy

Abstract

Purpose: Locally delivered, controlled-release antimicrobials have long been available in dentistry. Their utilization in routine clinical practice, however, has been slow, perhaps because of concerns about clinical benefits or costs or possibly due to a lack of understanding of their efficacy or proper use. In this paper the evidence regarding locally delivered, controlled-released antimicrobials is considered, and some of the controversies surrounding these agents are discussed. Evidence-based considerations regarding their use are also summarized. Scaling and root planing (SRP) procedures are the backbone of non-surgical periodontal therapy. Since a number of well designed clinical trials have demonstrated that adjunctive, locally delivered, controlled-release antimicrobials make SRP significantly more effective to reduce clinical signs of chronic periodontitis with a known safety profile, and since SRP procedures have previously been considered the standard of care for non-surgical periodontal therapy, a case is made that SRP in combination with adjunctive therapy, administered in a manner consistent with the approved full prescribing information, could be considered a new standard.