Using Local Antibiotics for Periodontal Pockets

Local antibiotic treatments are those that are applied directly to the infected area, much as you might put an antibiotic cream on a finger cut. Common reasons for the use of local antibiotic treatments include periodontal infections involving one or a few teeth in an otherwise healthy mouth or recurrence of disease following periodontal treatment. Because saliva would wash away any topical cream or ointment, the delivery methods for local antibiotics are cleverly devised. Two of the more popular locally-delivered products are doxycycline or metronidazole-containing gel that is injected into a periodontal pocket .