Effectiveness of the adjunctive use of ozone and chlorhexidine in patients with chronic periodontitis

BACKGROUND: Scaling and root planning (SRP) is the gold standard approach for treatment of chronic periodontitis but used alone it may not be effective in removing periodontal pathogens from sites where access is poor. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the clinical and microbiological efficacy of ozone and chlorhexidine (CHX) as an adjunct to SRP in patients with chronic periodontitis. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with generalized moderate to severe chronic periodontitis with presence of at least one site in each quadrant with a probing depth ≥5 mm were recruited. In a split mouth study design, two quadrants were randomly allocated to the SRP and ozone therapy and the remaining two quadrants to SRP and CHX therapy. Plaque index (PI), Gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) were assessed. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained for assessment of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg). RESULTS: Both groups demonstrated significant intragroup reduction in PI, GI, PD, CAL, Pg count and Aa count from baseline to 3 months follow-up. There were no significant differences between two groups for any of the parameters. CONCLUSION: Ozonated olive oil can be used as an adjunctive subgingival irrigant in patients with chronic periodontitis.