L. Sander et al., EFFECT OF LOCAL METRONIDAZOLE APPLICATION ON PERIODONTAL HEALING FOLLOWING GUIDED TISSUE REGENERATION - CLINICAL FINDINGS, Journal of periodontology, 65(10), 1994, pp. 914-920
THE EFFECT ON PERIODONTAL HEALING after guided tissue regeneration (GT
R) in association with local application of metronidazole gel was eval
uated in this study. Twelve patients with one pair of vertical periodo
ntal bone defects of comparable size and configuration participated in
the study. In a matched paired design, the test defects were treated
by GTR using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes in com
bination with local application of metronidazole gel. The controls wer
e treated in the same way except for application of metronidazole. Dur
ing the first month of membrane implantation, no statistically signifi
cant differences between test and control surfaces were noted with res
pect to inflammation of the marginal gingiva. Six weeks following inse
rtion, the membranes were removed. Six months after removal of the mem
brane, the median gain in probing attachment level as a percentage of
the initial defect depth was 92% for test defects and 50% for control
defects (P = .001). No statistically significant differences were foun
d between test and control sites regarding plaque, bleeding on probing
, reduction in pocket depth, gain in bone height, or recession of the
gingival margin. In conclusion, the results of the present study indic
ate that local application of metronidazole gel has a beneficial effec
t on healing of periodontal vertical defects treated by guided tissue
regeneration.