The aim of this randomised study in split-mouth design, in which 24 @entity1 from the recall programme of Marburg University Department of Periodontology were enrolled, was to compare topical application of a @entity868 25% dental gel with @entity2653 . The clinical parameters used were @entity5951 ( @entity5951 ) and @entity548 on probing (BOP); these were recorded at baseline and 1, 3, 6, 14, 18 and 24 months after completion of treatment. In addition, plaque samples were taken from all mesial pockets for evaluation by dark-field microscopy. All @entity1 had at least one tooth in each quadrant with a @entity5951 of 5 mm or more showing BOP when they entered the study. The treatment consisted of 2 applications of dental gel in 2 randomly selected quadrants (on days 0 and 7) as well as @entity2653 of the remaining quadrants. Statistical evaluation of all sites with a baseline @entity5951 of 5 mm or more showed that both methods led to a significant reduction in @entity5951 and BOP in the first 6 months. The average reduction in @entity5951 was 1.3 mm in the gel group and 1.5 mm in the scaling group, with the tendency to @entity548 being reduced by ca. 50% in both groups. After 24 months, improvements of 0.6 mm and 0.5 mm respectively were observed in @entity5951 . The tendency to @entity548 had undergone a slight increase but was still below baseline values. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two methods, although the results recorded with @entity2653 were slightly better. Dark-field microscopy revealed a shift in the composition of the bacterial flora, suggesting a more physiological situation, which was maintained for 6 months before reverting consistently after 18 months to the baseline values of the plaque composition. Overall, application of a @entity868 25% dental gel led in recall @entity1 to an improvement in the investigated clinical and microbiological parameters comparable with @entity2653 . After 24 months, the clinical parameters still displayed a very slight improvement over baseline values; after 18 months the microflora had reverted to its baseline composition.

Topical XXXX application in recall @entity1 . Long-term results.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity2653 :: ('MESH:C538175', 'Disease') :: ['subgingival scaling'] @entity868 :: ('MESH:D008795', 'Chemical') :: ['metronidazole'] @entity548 :: ('MESH:D006470', 'Disease') :: ['bleeding'] @entity5951 :: ('MESH:D005888', 'Disease') :: ['PPD', 'pocket probing depth']
@entity868 :: (MESH:D008795,Chemical) :: ['metronidazole']
