A Novel Adjuvant Treatment to Scaling and Root Planing With a Topical Gingival Patch: A Case Series

Introduction: Gingival inflammation often persists despite conventional therapies. A topical gingival patch containing natural extracts has been shown in a randomized clinical trial to reduce gingival inflammation when administered as an independent therapy. We report a case series of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic periodontitis in whom the patch was used together with scaling and root planing (SRP). Case Series: A series of 20 healthy patients presenting with moderate-to-severe chronic periodontitis (probing depths, 5 to 8 mm) were treated with the patch immediately after treatment with SRP. All patients had bilateral gingival inflammation with a gingival index (GI) ‡2 and bleeding on probing (BOP) on ‡1 site per tooth on two adjacent teeth. After SRP, the patch was applied first by the study periodontist (AS), with two subsequent applications over the next 24 hours by the patient, and reevaluated 2 to 4 weeks later. On a separate visit, the contralateral side was treated with SRP alone and was also reassessed after 2 to 4 weeks. Both the patch and non-patch sides showed improvement after SRP. When comparing the two sides, the patch-treated area showed a significantly greater reduction of inflammation and bleeding, as measured by GI (P<0.001) and BOP (P <0.002). Conclusions: In this case series, the patch is shown to provide a beneficial effect by helping to further reduce inflammation when used in conjunction with scaling and root planing. Additional research of the patch combined with SRP treatment is warranted within the framework of large randomized and controlled trials. Clin Adv Periodontics 2012;2:123-127.