Medications And Antibiotic Treatments For Gum Disease

Some dentists will prescribe some forms of medication to accompany treatments such as scaling and root planning but there are instances where the disease is too advanced and surgery must be seriously looked at. Antibiotic treatments can be used with a variety of oral therapies as well as surgery and in some cases are used by themselves to decrease the levels of bacteria or to get rid of as much of the harmful bacteria as possible.

Many of those in the medical and dental professions however believe that antibiotics are prescribed to patients too often and this overuse and sometimes abuse of antibiotics can lead to the risk of bacteria and germs becoming resistant to the antibiotics, thus destroying their effectiveness in working the way they were meant to.

The knowledge of this potential resistant to antibiotics has scientists and researchers working to create new strategies to reduce the chance that a resistant to an antibiotic will occur. What happens sometimes is this- a person is prescribed an antibiotic for a bacterial related infection. The antibiotic may kill off most of the harmful bacteria but a few of the germs may remain behind in the body. These germs then will mutate or they will develop resistance genes that they take from other bacteria found in the body. These resistance genes can then quickly go to work to multiply, thereby creating strains that are resistant to the antibiotics that are meant to do away with them. These strains in the body mean that the next time the individual has a similar infection, the same drug will get rid of it. This is especially frightening for people with serious illnesses who require antibiotics on a frequent basis.

Three new antibiotic drugs have recently been approved by the FDA that has been proven to not have problems with resistant. These drugs are applied directly to the periodontal pocket and are to be given in sustained-release does. The drugs are Atridox (doxycycline hyclate), Arestin (minocycline) and PerioChip (chlorhexidine gluconate). Antibiotics that are applied directly to the surface of the gums do not affect the functioning of the entire human body in the way that taking antibiotics orally does.

A variety of medications are presently used for people who suffer from gum disease:

Prescription Antimicrobial Mouth Rinse
This prescription mouth rinse is composed of an antimicrobial substance known as chlorhexidine that effectively inhibits bacteria formation during gingivitis treatment and following gum surgery.

Antiseptic “Chip”
This is a small piece of gelatine that contains chlorhexidine and is used to inhibit bacteria and decrease the size of the pockets at the gum line. This antiseptic “chip” is placed into the mouth after root planning has been done.

Antibiotic Gel
This gel contains the antibiotic ingredient doxycycline and has the same purpose as the antiseptic “chip”. The gel is used after SRP and is released into the system slowly over a period of approximately seven days.

Enzyme Suppressant
This contains a small dose of doxycycline and helps to keep harmful enzymes in their place. The enzyme suppressant is a pill that is commonly used in conjunction with SRP.