Author: Jenny Lau

According to the Arestin professional website, Arestin, minocycline 1 mg microspheres, is a concentrated, locally applied antibiotic that remains active in the pocket for an extended period of time to reduce pocket depth. The microspheres release antibiotic over time, targeting bacteria to reduce pocket depth, so gums can heal better than with scaling and root planing (SRP) alone. Arestin is not indicated for bone loss prevention or BOP. Therefore, the best candidate for Arestin treatment would have 5-7mm pocket depths.

In December 2019, I treated a patient with Arestin. He had Type III periodontitis that was stabilized with oral prophylactic treatment. The patient reported “no discomfort whatsoever” during Arestin placement. He was diligent in following aftercare instructions, and was very satisfied with the effectiveness of Arestin.

During third semester, I treated a patient with active Type III, localized Type IV periodontitis, with radiographic evidence of severe bone loss and active carious lesions. I emphasized the importance of the patient’s need for routine dental visits and referred the patient for evaluation for periodontal treatment. I understood that the patient’s oral health condition was related to her history of limited access to dental treatment and provided the patient with home care instructions including effective brushing technique, drinking water after meals to irrigate food stuffs from the oral cavity, and rinsing with Colgate Peroxyl.

Perio Patient Case Presentation

During second semester, for periodontics class, I participated in a group project in which we established a Phase I Dental Hygiene Treatment Plan for a 63-year-old male patient, suffering from major depression. Additionally, he had Type III Chronic Periodontitis and well controlled hypertension. His medication regimen included Zoloft, amlodopine, and hydrochlorothiazide. We became familiar with dental hygiene considerations in relation to his medical conditions and compiled a write up detailing each step of the treatment plan for this patient.

Phase I Treatment Planning

During second semester, I saw my first patient who had a medical condition and heavy case type. He had just completed his chemotherapy treatment for testicular cancer one month prior to his dental hygiene appointment. He was in good health aside from his cancer diagnosis. However, I assessed that he had dental anxiety during patient interview. Throughout his treatment, I focused on minimizing the patient’s discomfort by constantly checking on his status. He was tolerant of hand scaling and ultrasonic debridement under pain management with topical anesthetic, Oraqix. The patient was receptive to home care instructions and made his best effort to maintain compliance of learned oral hygiene techniques. I was glad to see an improvement in the patient’s confidence level after completion of his dental prophylaxis treatment.

Case Presentation Journal