Adjunctive supragingival irrigation with acetylsalicylic acid in periodontal supportive therapy

To assess the clinical efficacy of adjunctive supragingival irrigation with buffered 0.3% acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), 60 patients with periodontitis receiving supportive periodontal therapy were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 home regimens: (1) 1x daily adjunctive supragingival irrigation with 300 ml water immediately followed by 200 ml of buffered 0.3% ASA; (2) 1x daily adjunctive supragingival irrigation with 500 ml water; or (3) normal oral hygiene alone. Clinical parameters were assessed at baseline and 6 months. Irrigator use was measured by timers built into the irrigator units. Results at 6 months showed that both supragingival irrigation with buffered 0.3% ASA and supragingival irrigation with water significantly reduced gingival index scores (median 0.1 and 0.35, respectively) and pocket probing depths (both median 0.26 mm) compared to the control group. In addition, irrigation with water resulted in a significant reduction in bleeding on probing (median 0.13), whereas irrigation with buffered 0.3% ASA had no significant effect on bleeding on probing compared to the control group. The clinical efficacy of irrigation with either ASA or water was found to be positively correlated to initial disease severity and irrigator use. Thus, frequent supragingival irrigation with either 0.3% ASA or water in addition to regular oral hygiene appears to be a beneficial adjunct to periodontal supportive therapy in patients with moderate to severe signs of periodontitis. However, the use of buffered 0.3% ASA as an irrigant does not seem to enhance the clinical efficacy of supragingival irrigation on periodontal health.