The use of chemotherapeutic agents in localized periodontal pockets

Gingival diseases are the most widely dispersed diseases in the United States. In some patients, periodontal disease appears in a generalized form, but more often it appears in localized areas. Furthermore, after treatment with scaling and root planing in generalized cases, the disease is often reduced to a few local areas in the patient's mouth. Because periodontitis is a bacterial infection with known pathogenic microorganisms, the local delivery of antimicrobial agents has been considered to be a possible solution for treating and controlling localized forms of periodontal disease. Three local chemotherapeutic agents are reviewed in this paper: tetracycline fiber, doxycycline gel, and chlorhexidine chip. With the advancement of local drug delivery systems, restorative dentists, periodontists, and their patients have new alternatives for the treatment of periodontal disease. Local chemotherapeutic agents offer an additional mode of therapy and should be used on a case-by-case basis, not necessarily as an initial treatment.