Clinical evaluation of the effect of tetracycline hydrochloride root conditioning during flap surgery

Clinical effects of root surface demineralization during flap surgery were evaluated in ten patients with rapidly progressive periodontitis. Following initial periodontal therapy, flap surgery was conducted on the anterior segments. Test sites received conditioning with tetracycline solution for 5 minutes, whereas control sites were only rinsed with sterile saline solution. Following either treatment, improvement was observed on all clinical measures. However, apart from gingival index assessments, there was not a statistically significant difference in the improvement observed between test and control groups; the only significant difference was observed in gingival index scores at the second and fourth weeks. These differences in gingival index, which are not reflected in plaque index scores, imply that tetracycline has been absorbed on root surfaces and released in biologically active form for up to 4 weeks; but attachment level measurements demonstrate that tetracycline conditioning of the root surfaces during flap surgery has no additional regenerative benefit, or at least none detectable by clinical means.