Azithromycin as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for periodontal disease

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This review of azithromycin as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for periodontal disease included 9 small RCTs. While some studies demonstrated some small improvements in periodontal parameters, there was no data to demonstrate superiority of azithromycin against the standard antibiotic combination of metronidazole and amoxicillin.

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Periodontal surgery: less favourable outcomes in smokers

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This review of periodontal flap surgery identified 8 small studies, all of which demonstrated better outcomes in terms of probing the depth and the attachment level for non-smokers.

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Periodontal surgery for furcation defects

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This review included 11 small low quality studies that suggest clinical benefits at 6 months. Further high quality longer term studies are needed to assess the clinical relevance.

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Professional mechanical plaque removal for secondary prevention of periodontal disease

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For this review of professional mechanical plaque removal 19 studies were identified. While benefits were shown for an number of outcomes; tooth loss; clinical attachment; pocket depth and bleeding on probing the impact on long-term tooth survival and stability of periodontal parameters has still to be assessed.

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Non-surgical periodontal treatment – is there a role for systemic antibiotics?

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This review update includes 23 new studies comparing the effects of antibiotic therapy adjunctive to scaling and root planning for periodontal disease. While some additional benefit was shown the authors could not establish definitive conclusions and guidelines regarding their use.

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Review suggests small benefits from enamel matrix derivative in the treatment of periodontal pockets of suprabony defects

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A number of different regenerative techniques, guided tissue regeneration (GTR), bone grafting (BG) and the use of enamel matrix derivative (EMD) have been used to try and regenerate periodontal tissues. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of EMD in the treatment of periodontal pockets of suprabony defects. Searches were conducted in [read the full story…]

Trial found minor deterioration of periodontal status in patients with a partial removable dental prosthesis

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The World Health Organisation has stated that the retention, throughout life, of a functional, aesthetic, natural dentition of not less than 20 teeth and not requiring recourse to prostheses should be the treatment goal for oral health. This is consistent with the concept of the shortened dental arch (SDA) with an intact anterior region and [read the full story…]