Efficacy of xanthan based chlorhexidine gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in treatment of the chronic periodontitis

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of locally delivered xanthan-based Chlosite(®) gel as an adjunctive therapy to scaling and root planing in treatment of chronic periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a randomized controlled clinical study, 30 patients were selected. Pocket depth between 5 and 7 mm was selected and each patient had two sites on the same side of the mouth. A total of 30 control sites were scaled and root planed and 30 test sites were scaled and root planed and Chlosite(®) gel was added. The clinical parameters, probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque index (PI) and bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival index were recorded at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Paired/unpaired t-test was used, significance was placed at 5% level of significance, i.e., P < 0.05 was considered as a significant. RESULTS: From baseline to a period of 6 months, significant difference was found between test and control group for PD, CAL, PI and BOP, P value being PD (P = 0.002), CAL index (P = 0.014), respectively. CONCLUSION: Subgingival injection of xanthan-based Chlosite(®) gel adjunct with scaling and root planing appeared to cause significant improvement compared with scaling and root planing alone in persons with chronic periodontitis.