Minocycline Ointment as a Local Drug Delive in the Treatment of Generalized Chronic Periodontitis - A Clinical Study

Introduction: The primary goal in periodontal therapy includes removal of the etiological factors by mechanical periodontal treatment, which sometimes fail to eliminate the anaerobic infection at the base of the pocket and requires adjuvant chemical therapy. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 2% minocycline ointment when used as an adjunct to periodontal flap surgery and post-operative maintenance period for the treatment of generalized chronic periodontitis. Materials and Methods: The study included 30 subjects comprising of 60 posterior sextants in a split mouth design in which 30 sextants were treated as experimental and 30 sextants as control with a probing pocket depth >= 6mm. In Group A (experimental group) 30 sextants were treated with open flap debridement followed by the application of minocycline ointment as a local drug delivery. In Group B (control group) 30 sextants were treated with open flap debridement alone. Minocycline hydrochloride ointment was applied on the 0 day and 3rd month. The clinical parameters such as plaque index, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level and gingival bleeding index were recorded at 0 day, 3rd month and 6th month in both the groups, Paired and unpaired t-test were used to compare the means of the two groups. Results: When Group A and Group B were compared, Group A showed significantly greater reduction in gingival bleeding index, probing pocket depth and gain in clinical attachment level than Group B, from 0 day to 3 months and from 0 day to 6 months. Group A showed significant reduction in plaque index than Group B when they were compared at 6 months. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that there was significant reduction in the clinical parameters with improvement in the periodontal status on application of minocycline ointment as an adjunct to periodontal flap surgery in generalized chronic periodontitis.