Are antibiotics and locally delivered antimicrobials effective modalities in the treatment of periodontal diseases?
A The best way to gauge a treatment’s efficacy is to look at the tangible benefits it provides to the patient. A tangible benefit in periodontitis is that the patient keeps his or her teeth with good function and esthetics in the absence of discomfort. The second benefit is that the patient can avoid periodontal surgery. I think that more periodontists are using systemic antibiotics and locally delivered antimicrobials and observing success. At the same time, I think the incidence of periodontal surgery is decreasing. The Question of Overuse Q Is there a danger of overuse of antibiotics in dentistry? A Yes, just like in medicine, antibiotics should not be over-used since this could promote the growth of antibioticresistant organisms. We reserve the use of systemic antibiotics for patients whose disease is serious enough to warrant periodontal surgery and in those whom we can diagnose an anaerobic infection. The infection in periodontal disease is due to an overgrowth of organisms calle
