Clinical effect of the application of metronidazole gel on sub gingival scaling in periodontal patients

Abstract Introduction: Chemical plaque control methods are recommended as adjunctive to mechanical plaque control methods. The aim of this study was to determine and compare periodontal probing depth (PPD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) indices with and without application of 25% metronidazol gel. Methods and Materials: 20 patients with chronic periodontitis were randomly selected. In each patient a quadrant with probing depth of 3-5 mm was randomly selected as test tooth and the symmetric tooth with the same condition in the contralateral quadrant was selected as control tooth. After scaling both the test and control teeth, the metronidazol gel (25%) was applied to the test tooth site. The patients were examined on days 0, 7 and 21 and PPD and BOP indices were measured. Results: The results showed a significant decrease in pocket depth and the absence of bleeding on probing on day 21 between the two groups of test and control (P