Clinical Effects of Systemic Azithromycin as an Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planing in the Treatment of Chronic Periodontitis: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Antibiotics are used adjunctively to scaling and root planing (SRP) for treatment of periodontal disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of systemic Azithromycin (AZM) as an adjunct to SRP in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis. This study was a double-blinded, randomized clinical trial in which 49 patients with chronic periodontitis participated. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: The test group which received SRP plus AZM and the control group which received SRP plus placebo with the same dose. Clinical indices including Probing Pocket Depth (PPD), clinical Loss of Attachment (LOA), Gingival Index (GI),and Plaque Index (PI) were measured at the baseline and 3, 13, and 25 weeks after treatment.The mean LOA and PPD in the test group were significantly less than the control group after 25 weeks from baseline. Over all, the mean LOA and PPD were less in the test group than the control group at all times. All four mentioned indices showed further reduction in the test group during time.The adjunctive use of systemic azithromycin show significant clinical benefit in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.