Effect of adhesive antibiotic TA on plaque and gingivitis in man

The adhesive antibiotic TA was applied to the dento-gingival junction of 8 human volunteers, suffering from moderate to severe gingivitis. 2 diametrically opposed quadrants of the mouth received 4 applications of 0.1 mg TA, while the other 2 quadrants were treated with a placebo and served as controls. The plaque index, gingival index and bleeding index were scored periodically for 2 weeks and in 4 patients for up to 30 days. The TA-treated quadrants showed a rapid decrease in all 3 indices following 2 treatments. A further improvement was observed with the 3rd and 4th treatments. 30 days after the onset of the experiment and 23 days after the last application, the indices were still considerably lower than the initial values.