Periodontic treatment and method

Abstract

Dental treatments and methods, including treating gum disease, using peroxide gel and a viscous antibacterial agent including tetracycline to chemically debride and curettage a treatment area. Treatments and methods include non-surgically scaling and root plaining the treatment area with dental tools such as periodontal scalers and / or curettes during the active period of the chemical debridement. The working surfaces of dental tools can be sharpened for optimal root and tooth surfacing during treatment. Treatment can include instructions for co-therapy by or on behalf of treatment subjects between visits and for maintenance care.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART[0001]Within minutes after a tooth surface has been thoroughly cleaned, bacterial plaque initiation begins. To control this continuous colonization and maturation of the bacterial plaque, and eventually calculus deposition as well, one must adhere to a basic oral hygiene regimen. This regimen usually consisted of basic tooth brushing and flossing.[0002]Periodontitis is an inflammatory condition of the supporting dental tissues that is normally treated by mechanical removal of the subgingival and supragingival biofilm. This traditional mechanical treatment generally known as scaling and root planing, is not entirely effective, but remains the “gold standard” for the non-surgical management of chronic periodontitis. Currently, the most widely accepted definitions of scaling and root planing are:1. Scaling involves instrumentation of the crown and root surfaces of the teeth to remove plaque and calculus from these tooth surfaces. This definition of scaling and...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes the use of tetracycline as a systemic antibiotic and its benefits in the periodontium. The viscous tetracycline can improve healing without reducing its antibiotic effect. It is also believed to kill bacteria in the pocket and promote advanced healing. The tetracycline may contribute to an aerobic environment hostile to anaerobic pathogens. The topical tetracycline can also prevent implants from failing by early recognition and intervention for peri implant diseases. The use of viscous peroxide can also help keep the area around implants clean.

Problems solved by technology

This traditional mechanical treatment generally known as scaling and root planing, is not entirely effective, but remains the “gold standard” for the non-surgical management of chronic periodontitis.

This mechanical therapy may, however, fail to reduce or eliminate the anaerobic infection at the base of the pocket, within the gingival tissues or in furcations of multirooted teeth.

Of course, it is well known how difficult hand instrumentation is to perform.

Dental care professionals in private practice also often have inadequate skills or time to sharpen dental scalers and curettes prior to treating each and every patient.

Busy full hygiene work schedules and the financial demands and needs of the dental office prohibit them from checking every instrument for sharpness for proper root planing and scaling before each patient and during the treatment without retesting for sharpness as the instruments are used.

Instruments become dull even during the same treatment as it is used throughout the mouth.

Some hygienists have gone as far as to point out that they sharpen their instrument one or twice a year or rely on sonic and ultrasonic instrumentation, which also has limitations.

Further, manual scaling and root planning can often be difficult and time consuming due to the complex and unfavorable root morphology when working blindly at deep pocket sites.

Scaling and root planing is a localized treatment but is not able to get rid of the pathogenic bacteria at all times due to their presence within periodontal tissues, or in the case of deeper pockets, where the instruments are difficult to reach.

As probing depth increases, manual instruments become less efficient to confiscate the root of the problem especially with compromised unfinished cutting edges provided by the various manufacturers and are not refined and maintained by the clinician.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,956,161 entitled Article and Method for Controlling Oral-Originated Systemic Disease, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference hereby, describes a method for treating periodontitis by administering a 1.7% hydrogen peroxide gel using a “Perio-Tray™”—noting that oral rinses and gels can treat gum disease, but cannot effectively treat periodontal pockets without the specialized delivery tray because rinses, brushing and flossing “do not typically penetrate greater than 3 mm into the periodontal pocket” and “medicament applications into the periodontal pocket are unable to maintain a modified environment sufficient for health and healing.” The adjunctive use over three months of 1.7% hydrogen peroxide gel, locally administered using prescription customized trays in the treatment of subjects with moderate to advanced periodontitis, demonstrated statistically significant clinical improvements in pocket depths and bleeding when compared with scaling and root planning alone.

There was a low level of certainty on the benefits of all other adjunctive therapies.

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