Chlorhexidine chip and tetracycline fibers as adjunct to scaling and root planing - A clinical study

Aim: Prevention of periodontal disease progression is the primary goal of periodontal therapy. When conventional therapy is found inadequate to attain periodontal health in chronic periodontitis, local antimicrobial agents have been used as adjunct to scaling and root planing, producing encouraging results. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate clinically, the newly released sustained drugs, PerioCol ^TM-CG (Chlorhexidine - CHX- chip) with Periodontal Plus AB ^TM (Tetracycline fibers). Methods: Patients were allocated in 3 experimental treatment groups, Group A- SRP + CHX Chip, Group B- SRP + Tetracycline fibers, and Group C- SRP alone (control group). Forty-five sites in 14 patients (9 females and 5 males) with chronic periodontitis (5-8mm probing depth), were evaluated clinically for probing depth (PD) and relative attachment level (RAL). Results: All the treatment groups were found to be efficacious in the treatment of periodontal disease as demonstrated by improvement in PD and RAL. Conclusion: Combination of SRP + CHX chip (Group A) resulted in added benefits compared to the other two treatment groups.