Adjunctive effects of systemic antimicrobial therapy to One-Stage Full-Mouth Disinfection in generalized aggressive periodontitis. A placebo-controlled study.

Aim: Adjunctive systemic antibiotics may benefit generalized aggressive periodontits patients (G-AgP) during non-surgical therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze adjunctive clinical and microbiological effects of systemic amoxicillin-metronida- zole administration in the One-Stage Full-Mouth Disinfection (OSFMD) protocol. Material and Methods: Thirty-nine subjects with G-AgP were consecutively included in this randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, 12-month trial. All patients received the OSFMD and were prescribed to take amoxicillin-metronidazole combination (test group, n=19) or placebo (control group, n=20) 3 times a day for 7 days. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained from moderate (4-5 mm) and deep (3 6 mm) pocket sites and clinical parameters were recorded at baseline, 6 and 12 months post-treatment. Results: Both therapies led to a statistically significant decrease in clinical and microbiological parameters compared to baseline (p<0.001). The administration of systemic antimicrobials enhanced the efficacy of OSFMD in reducing probing depth, improving clinical attachment level, and in decreasing the prevalence of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia especially in deep pocket sites compared to the placebo group (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The overall trend in the data support the administration of metronidazole and amoxicillin as an adjunct to OSFMD therapy in the treatment of G-AgP patients.