Health
Easy on the Gum Scraping
It's not going to replace the often-painful, but necessary, scraping of plaque from your teeth but using short-term antibiotics could make getting rid of gum disease a lot easier, researchers say.
University of Michigan School of Dentistry researchers say antibiotics such as metronidazole or doxycycline may reduce the need for surgery and clear up periodontal disease, especially in severe cases.
Writing in the Critical Reviews of Oral Biology and Medicine, the researchers say about 90 percent of periodontal disease cases are caused by an overgrowth of bacteria and an anti-microbial approach may save many teeth that before would have been considered "hopeless" and extracted.
Up to 80 percent of patients using antibiotics may be spared the discomfort of periodontal surgery, researchers say -- with a caution: The drugs should not be used more than one or two weeks at a time to avoid antibiotic resistance.
University of Michigan School of Dentistry researchers say antibiotics such as metronidazole or doxycycline may reduce the need for surgery and clear up periodontal disease, especially in severe cases.
Writing in the Critical Reviews of Oral Biology and Medicine, the researchers say about 90 percent of periodontal disease cases are caused by an overgrowth of bacteria and an anti-microbial approach may save many teeth that before would have been considered "hopeless" and extracted.
Up to 80 percent of patients using antibiotics may be spared the discomfort of periodontal surgery, researchers say -- with a caution: The drugs should not be used more than one or two weeks at a time to avoid antibiotic resistance.
