Clinical and Microbiological Evaluation of Povidone-Iodine 10% as an Adjunct to Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy in Chronic Periodontitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical and microbiological effects of irrigation with 10% povidone-iodine (PVP-I) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis (ChP).

METHODS

Thirty-six subjects with ChP were randomly assigned to receive SRP + irrigation with saline solution (control group) or SRP + irrigation with 10% PVP-I (test group). Subjects received clinical and microbiological evaluation at baseline, 30 and 90 days post-treatment. Six subgingival plaque samples/subject were collected at each time point and individually analyzed for 40 bacterial species by checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization.

RESULTS

No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups at 90 days post-treatment. At 30 days, the test group presented with lower levels of Tannerella forsythia and lower proportions of red complex pathogens in comparison to the control group. However, these benefits were not maintained at 90 days.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study were unable to show a significant clinical benefit from the adjunctive use of 10% PVP-I in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. However, the microbiological benefit observed with the use of this substance at 30 days might indicate a role for PVP-I in periodontal care, possibly through its repeated application during supportive therapy.