One of the treatments available for patients suffering from periodontal disease is Arestin. Arestin is an antibiotic powder placed in the mouth after scaling and root planing treatments to prevent bacteria from developing into periodontal disease.
Arestin (minocycline hydrochloride), is an effective antibiotic treatment for periodontal disease. It comes in powder form, and is placed inside the infected periodontal pockets after a patient has completed the scaling and root planing procedure. Arestin is most effective as part of an overall oral health program that includes good oral hygiene.
(source:foresthilldentistry.com) (source:arestinprofessional.com)
Finding the ideal candidate to treat with Arestin involved using my my clinical judgement which I’ve been developing the past 2 years. Once I found the ideal candidate: an overall healthy 36 year old female with pre-arestin tx probing depths ranging from 5-6mm and is compliant with oral hygiene home instructions. Her pocket depth did not improve after 2 weeks of scaling and root planning, therefor I administered the Arestin.
I placed the Arestin during the third semester before the winter break; therefore, I was unable to re-evaluate the placement until the 4th semester, three months later. I placed the Arestin at 4 different sites with each site with a probing depth of 6mm. The re-evaluation showed depths of 4mm at two sites and 5mm at the other two sites. The re-evaluation also showed the patient required another dental cleaning.
With this slight improvement, I believe that Arestin is effective. I wished I had more opportunity to place the Arestin on additional patients, and could fully re-evaluate after one months time as recommended. Because of the pandemic, the school was closed and I was not afforded the opportunity to have more experience and practice.
(Arestin placement practice during the Orapharma Arestin presentation)
