April 2015

Background: The present clinical trial was designed to investigate the effectiveness of subgingivally delivered satranidazole (SZ) gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Methods: Sixty-four subjects with probing depth (PD) ≥ 5 mm and who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were selected. Thirty-two subjects each were randomly assigned to SRP + placebo (Group 1) and SRP + SZ (Group 2). The clinical outcomes evaluated were plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), clinical attachment level (CAL) and PD at baseline, 1 month, 3-months and 6 months. Results: At 6 months, Group 2 had greater mean reduction (4.73 mm) in PD as compared to Group 1 (2.09 mm; p < 0.05) and also a greater mean CAL gain (3.92 mm versus 1.64 mm; p < 0.05). Conclusion: The use of 3% SZ gel, when used as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal therapy in subjects with periodontitis, achieves significantly better clinical results than initial periodontal treatment alone.