Patient comfort is critical for any dental treatment, especially when it comes to oral diseases like periodontitis. To treat his patients with these issues, Dr. Ravichandra Juluri tried using PerioChip, a non-antibiotic adjunct treatment to scaling and root planing, but found that his patients experienced discomfort. Now, for patients with isolated deep pockets with bleeding, or who have a perio abscess at one site, he applies ARESTIN.
ARESTIN is a locally applied antibiotic that targets periodontal bacteria to fight infection for an extended period of time, reducing pocket depth.
Although he does not apply ARESTIN if the periodontal disease lies in generalized areas, he found that the medication worked well in improving localized periodontitis.
“In the case of refractory periodontitis, scaling and root planing used with ARESTIN or other antibiotics yields better results,” shared Dr. Juluri, who has also used ARESTIN on cases of peri-implantitis.
His typical oral maintenance program involves active perio treatment with scaling and root planing, polishing, and perio probing, or perio surgery if necessary.
“If there is an isolated deep pocket, I address that area with 1-3 scaling and root planing and apply ARESTIN,” shared Dr. Juluri, adding, that if there are issues in multiple areas then the patient is treated with perio surgery and systemic antibiotics.
Another key to his oral maintenance program is educating patients about periodontitis and the consequence of teeth loss.
“We educate them and have them come back for 3-month cleanings and use localized antibiotics like ARESTIN,” concluded Dr. Juluri.