Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy: An Aspect Frequently Overlooked

Non-surgical periodontal treatment was common 3000-4000 years ago according to analysis of Egyptian hieroglyphics and medical papyri. Even today, scaling and root planing (SRP) remains an essential part of successful periodontal therapy. SRP remains the gold standard to which more recently developed therapeutic modalities must be compared. Inherent to the clinical evaluation of SRP are such concerns as manual versus sonic and ultrasonic instrumentation, control of sub-gingival bacterial populations, and removal of calculus, root smoothness and changes in various clinical parameters, e. g. probing depth, attachment levels, bleeding on probing and gingival inflammation. Local drug delivery is used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing. It refers to devices/composition and methods for treating diseases of the oral cavity using non bio degradable devices/composition which are biocompatible but are not bioerodable for releasing drugs in and around a periodontal pocket or a gingival sulcus. [1] This review approaches scaling and root planing and the main delivery systems for the administration of drugs to the periodontal pocket, their usefulness, and the advancement of these systems effectiveness as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in the non surgical periodontal therapy.