Results of this trial demonstrate that treatment of periodontitis with subgingivally delivered doxycycline in a biodegradable polymer is equally effective as scaling and root planing and superior in effect to placebo control and oral hygiene in reducing the clinical signs of adult periodontitis over a 9-month period. This represents positive changes resulting from the use of subgingivally applied doxycycline as scaling and root planing was not limited regarding time of the procedure or use of local anesthesia.

The objective of this study was to determine the ability of several techniques to detect natural secondary caries adjacent to proximal class II amalgam restorations. Two sites were selected and marked on each of 50 human extracted posterior teeth. Three examiners visually characterized each site independently for signs of demineralization (VI), ditching presence (VD), and color change, and utilized light-induced fluorescence (QLF), and infrared laser fluorescence (LF) techniques. The teeth were sectioned through the selected sites, and the severity of each lesion was determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) as the ‘gold standard’. Agreement among examiners was assessed using weighted kappa statistics and showed fair to moderate correlation with all techniques. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value and accuracy were determined by utilizing three arbitrary CLSM thresholds. Higher sensitivity was indicated by the QLF and LF than by VI. For PPV and accuracy, QLF and LF showed values higher or similar to VI. Low sensitivity was found for VD. The results obtained in this study suggest that LF and QLF may improve the ability to detect early secondary caries around amalgam restorations.

A 3‐month clinical trial was conducted to compare the effects of two concentrations of a chlorhexidine mouthrinse on gingivitis and plaque accumulation. Six hundred (600) adults were divided into three treatment groups matched for age, sex, and initial gingivitis severity. Following a thorough examination and prophylaxis at baseline, subjects were given a mouthrinse containing either 0.12% or 0.20% chlorhexidine gluconate or a placebo mouthrinse. Subjects were evaluated after 6 weeks and 3 months of mouthrinse use. After 3 months, both chlorhexidine groups showed significantly less gingivitis and plaque than the placebo group. The group using the 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate mouthrinse demonstrated 27–27 % less gingivitis occurrence and 28–28% less gingivitis severity than the placebo group. The 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate group also had 48–48% less gingival bleeding and 36% less plaque than the placebo group. There were no significant advantages for the 0.20% mouthrinse over the 0.12% mouthrinse. It is therefore concluded that a 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate mouthrinse offers the same clinical benefits as a 0.20% chlorhexidine gluconate mouthrinse.