The adjunctive use of locally delivered tetracyclines in periodontal therapy: A narrative review of the recent literature

Antibiotics belonging to the category of tetracyclines have been widely used in periodontal therapy due to their specifi c characteristics that makes them eff ective both against the microorganisms responsible of the periodontal disease and against the enzymatic products responsible of the periodontal breakdown. A search of the recent literature (January 2009-December 2014) was conducted in order to make a review of the use of tetracyclines for local use in periodontal therapy. From this review we can infer that the use of local tetracyclines brings signifi cant advantages in periodontal therapy. However, to date, it is not possible to establish guidelines on the use of these agents given the heterogeneity in the protocols used in the various studies and the lack of a consensus accepted by the scientifi c community. The local locally delivered tetracyclines is eff ective in the treatment of periodontal disease when used in addition to the mechanical therapy and is particularly eff ective in cases of localized acute lesions or individual sites unresponsive to the causal therapy.