Local drug delivery in the treatment of periodontal diseases

Abstract

Periodontitis is a multifactorial, immunomodulatory disease primarily affecting the supporting tissues of the teeth. Various treatment modalities such as mechanical debridement and use of antimicrobial drugs have been used in the treatment of periodontal diseases. Introduction of the local drug delivery (LDD) system is one of the promising approaches in the management of periodontal diseases. It shows better clinical outcomes, when used as an adjunct to scaling and root planning; hence, it cannot be used as a monotherapy. Research efforts have been focused on developing new agents to use in the LDD system.