Lycopene vs Minocycline Hydrochloride as Adjunctive to Periodontal Treatment

Periodontal diseases are among the most common medical conditions that may influence humans; 50% of the adult population can be affected by this illness. The condition is usually initiated by lack or reduction in oral hygiene which is then aggravated by the presence of microorganisms within biofilm which will induce a sequel of events that will lead to periodontitis. The multifactorial nature of the disease necessitates a multifactorial approach to restore the balance within the oral echo system. Scaling, root planning, and polishing (SRP) are the golden standard procedures in the treatment; the therapeutic nature of these clinical intervention is based on disrupting the biofilm and stimulate the host defense mechanism to have the upper hand in targeting the microorganisms and their toxins. Systemic antibiotics as adjunctive therapy has been established to be an excellent modality in controlling the bacterial virulence, hence, supporting the conventional SRP therapy; in order to avoid and limit the harmful effect of systemic antibiotics different locally applied preparations have been introduced. Clinical parameters bleeding on probing (BOP), pocket depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) have been improved when Minocycline hydrochloride (HCL) microspheres was locally applied as an adjunctive drug to conventional SRP. Oxidative stress is another factor related to periodontitis. The free radicals are a by-product of the inflammatory reaction induced by the disease progression; free radicals eliminated by antioxidants which is naturally found in the diet especially fruits and vegetables; however, when the imbalance occur and the free radicals over weighed the antioxidants there will be further initiation of the destruction mechanism. The role of antioxidant as therapeutic agent in reducing the oxidative stress has been well studied and their supporting effect to the conventional SRP treatment is well documented. Lycopene extract can be applied as a gel intrapocket subgingival and it can have a promising result with the SRP.

The aim of this prospective clinical study is to compare between the effect of Minocycline HCL microsphere and Lycopene gel when they are applied intrapocket subgingival with conventional SRP therapy. The study will utilize split mouth technique; three sites within the oral cavity that have a pocket depth greater than 5 mm will be included. Each site will be designated to receive a specific treatment, Control group (site) will have SRP and water irrigation treatment, active group (site) will have local application of Minocycline HCL gel following SRP therapy, and the experimental site which will receive lycopene and SRP treatment. The influence of these therapeutic agents will be determined by the expression of selected inflammation-related markers in the gingival crevicular fluid collected from the experimental sites. The markers that will be examined are MMP-9, interleukin (IL)-8, TGF-Beta 1, and TIMP1. The change in the clinical parameters will be measured before the commencement of treatment and it will be examined later to observe the effect of each locally applied drug when compared to the control group (SRP plus water irrigation).