The effect of a triclosan/copolymer dentifrice on healing after non-surgical treatment of recurrent periodontitis.

The present study examined whether the daily use of a triclosan/copolymer dentifrice enhanced healing following non-surgical periodontal therapy at sites with progressive attachment loss in periodontitis-susceptible subjects: 60 subjects who had been (i) treated for advanced periodontal disease using nonsurgical means and (ii) had been enrolled, for at least 3-5 years, in a maintenance care program that called for prophylaxis once every 3 months. During the course of this maintenance period, all 60 subjects had suffered recurrent periodontitis at > or = 2 sites at several intervals. Following a baseline examination, all 60 subjects received, on an individual basis, detailed instruction in proper self-performed plaque control methods. They were stratified in 2 balanced groups (test and control groups). The members of the test group were assigned to use a triclosan/copolymer/fluoride-containing dentifrice, while the control group used a placebo dentifrice. During the following 3 years, all participants were recalled every 3 months for an evaluation of their oral hygiene standard. Re-examinations were performed after 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. In conjunction with the re-examinations, sites (loser sites) which exhibited additional probing attachment loss (> or = 2 mm) were identified. The loser sites were exposed to professional therapy. Thus, the site was anaesthetized and the surface carefully scaled and root planed (S/RP). Alterations regarding probing pocket depth (PPD), probing attachment level (PAL), and bleeding on probing (BoP) that occurred in the interval between S/RP and 36 months were analyzed. In the control group, 126 loser sites, 67 identified at the 12-month and 59 at the 24-month examinations, were subjected to S/RP. The corresponding number of loser sites in the test group was 85 (48 at 12 months and 37 at 24 months). At the time of S/RP, about 60% of the sites were BoP (+) in both groups. Following treatment, there was a reduction in the number of sites with gingivitis. While the reduction in the control group was modest (6.8%), in the test group, the improvement was more marked (27.5%). Following S/RP, there was also a reduction of the mean PPD in both groups. This decrease amounted to 1.7 mm in the test group and was significantly (p<0.05) smaller (0.6 mm) in the control. Finally in the interval between S/RP and 36 months, there was an improvement of the probing attachment level in both groups. The mean PAL gain was, however, significantly higher in the test than in the control group (1.8 mm versus 0.7 mm; p<0.01).