Managing biofilm with a minimally invasive, customized approach: Perio Protect

Introduced more than a decade ago, Perio Protect is a combination periodontal treatment protocol intended to reduce the need for surgical treatment and repetitive invasive procedures. The centerpiece is the full-arch custom-fit Perio Tray for delivery of medicament into both shallow and deep pockets to address infected tissue. The tray is specially designed to hold medicament in the sulcus and prevent it from being flushed out by crevicular fluid. The Perio Tray is a versatile tool for managing biofilm between office visits, allowing intervention early in the disease cycle as well as treatment of moderate to severe periodontitis.

Used as part of a daily home-care regimen, the Perio Tray is intended to provide chemical debridement as an adjunct to other nonsurgical mechanical treatments. Perio Tray medicament delivery combined with scaling has been shown to lead to greater reductions in bleeding and pocket depths than scaling alone.

Do It Right

A variety of training options are available to help clinicians integrate Perio Trays into their treatment protocols. The multi-faceted training options includes seminars, webinars, and selfstudy courses, covering:
• An overview of oral biofilm formation and host response.
• The benefits and limitations of antimicrobial and mechanical therapies for biofilm control.
• How and why antimicrobials with oxidative/reduction reactions effectively manage biofilms.
• How to incorporate localized antibiofilm therapies into existing treatment plans.
• When infected tissue must be treated with surgery.
• How to help patients improve homecare regimens.

Mother of Invention

The Perio Protect protocol was developed by a practicing dentist, Duane C. Keller, DMD, who is currently Perio Protect’s President and CSO. After undergoing the first of 4 scheduled periodontal surgeries, Dr. Keller’s mother refused any further surgical intervention. She asked Dr. Keller to “find another way.”

At first he suggested tufted floss and special brushes to deliver medication to the infected areas. He also applied medicaments via syringes and irrigation systems, but crevicular fluid quickly washed the medication away. Keeping the medication in the sulcus where the disease-causing bacteria grow was the major challenge.

Finally, after trying a variety of dental trays and reading hundreds of articles about the most helpful medications, Dr. Keller developed a delivery technique that is individually customized for each patient and holds effective medications in place.

His mother’s treatments were so successful that he began to treat himself, other family members, offi ce staff, and patients—all with similar results. Dr. Keller soon patented the method and delivery technique.

Fighting Antibiotic Resistance

The CDC warns that antibiotic resistance is “public health’s ticking time bomb,” with antibiotics losing their effectiveness due to rising bacterial resistance. Perio Tray delivery of a broad spectrum antimicrobial with 1.7% hydrogen peroxide is an effective and safe alternative to antibiotics, providing effective oral debridement and wound cleansing.

Perio Protect may not be able to eliminate the need for surgical intervention in every case, but it has been shown clinically to dramatically reduce the need for invasive procedures overall.