Chemotherapeutics in periodontics.

In this article emphasis has been placed on the major chemotherapeutic aspects of periodontal therapy in the 1970s. During this decade investigations of chlorhexidine stimulated many studies relevant to the role of topical antimicrobial agents to prevent or treat gingivitis. Major attention focused on the effect of these agents on supragingival plaque. In the 1980s attention will be focused on the effect of antimicrobial agents on subgingival plaque and gingivitis. Already, innovative methods of delivering medications into the gingival crevice are being evaluated. The use of antibiotics systemically to treat periodontal disease will reach its peak in the next decade. It is most likely that antibiotics that concentrate in gingival crevicular fluid and have minimal side effects will become useful adjuncts in periodontal therapy.