Perioceutics in the management of Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease is an immuno-inflammatory condition involving the tissues that surround and support the teeth. Till date back bone of periodontal treatment is still mechanical removal of plaque and calculus deposits from supra and sub gingival environment whereas complete elimination of these deleterious agents are quite unrealistic as the pocket depth increases. Intra pocket administration of drug via local drug delivery system have shown to achieve better clinical results when used as an adjunct to conventional non-surgical periodontal therapy, as periodontal pockets holds gingival crevicular fluid for the controlled release delivery of antimicrobials directly. This has steered the field of perioceutics which involves usage antimicrobial as well as host modulatory agents for the benefit of periodontium. Innova tions in Perioceutics have led the researchers to have minimum usage of antibiotics as they develop resistance against microorganisms with side –effects. Presently focus is towards development of new Local Drug Delivery [LDD], host modulating agents, antibodies, biofilm which yield faster and safer results. In the article various locally delivered perioceutic agents are assessed with regard to their purpose, characteristics it possess, effectiveness as a monotherapy, incomparsion to scaling and root planning, and ability to enhance conventional treatment. Furthermore, arguments related with local delivery are addressed.