Spotlight on systemic antimicrobial adjunctive therapy in aggressive periodontitis

Abstract EN

Thirty-five adult patients with untreated aggressive periodontitis have been exposed in a pilot study to microbiological analysis to define the kind of oral microorganisms causing the disease.

They have been found to harbor sub-gingival Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Capnocytophaga species, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, and Eikenella corrodens as the common putative and anaerobic microorganisms causing the disease.

Follow-up study has been then carried out on other forty-five adult patients with untreated aggressive periodontitis.

According to antimicrobial regimens, patients were treated for 14 days with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid either alone (group I), or combined with any of the following: doxycycline 100 mg/day (group II), metronidazole 750 mg/day (group III), doxycycline 100 mg/day and metronidazole 750 mg/day (group IV), doxycycline 20 mg twice daily and metronidazole 750 mg/day (group V).

Clinical, microbiological and biochemical data at baseline and following treatment showed beneficial effects of drugs given with an upper hand to any of the combination therapy in comparison with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid monotherapy.

Similar efficacy of doxycycline at sub-antimicrobial dose (20 mg twice daily) and 100 mg daily encourages the use of lower dose of that drug in combination treatment of periodontitis.