Silver-based chemical device as an adjunct of domestic oral hygiene: A study on periodontal patients

The use of chemical devices for periodontitis treatment has led to new strategies aiming primarily to control infections. Over the last few years, new chemical devices have been subjected to many scientific and medical studies. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of a new silver based chemical devices gel named "Hydrosilver Plus Gel", abbreviated here as Hydrosilver, on the pathogenic microorganisms, using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for microbiological analysis. Materials and methods: Ten patients with a diagnosis of chronic periodontitis in the age group > 25 years were selected. None of these patients had received any surgical or non-surgical periodontal therapy, and demonstrated radiographic evidence of moderate bone loss. After scaling and root planning, patients received Hydrosilver to be used at home. Four non-adjacent sites in separate quadrants were selected in each patient for monitoring, based on criteria that the sites localise chronic periodontitis. Microbial analysis was analysed at baseline and at Day 15. SPSS program was used for statistical purposes and a paired samples correlation was performed at the end of the observation period. Results: Mean amounts of bacterial loading before and after Hydrosilver treatment reduced statistically significantly (p = 0.002). Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that Hydrosilver has a good impact on oral biofilm. Additional studies are needed to detect the efficacy of this chemical device.