Amoxicillin Plus Metronidazole Therapy for Patients with Periodontitis and Type 2 Diabetes: A 2-year Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study was to assess the changes occurring in subgingival biofilm composition and in the periodontal clinical parameters of subjects with periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) treated by means of scaling and root planing (SRP) only or combined with systemic metronidazole (MTZ) and amoxicillin (AMX). Fifty-eight subjects were randomly assigned to receive SRP only (n = 29) or with MTZ (400 mg/thrice a day [TID]) and AMX (500 mg/TID) (n = 29) for 14 d. Six subgingival plaque samples/subject were analyzed by checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization for 40 bacterial species at baseline and 3 mo, 1 y, and 2 y posttherapy. At 2 y posttherapy, the antibiotic-treated group harbored lower mean proportions (5.5%) of red complex pathogens than the control group (12.1%) (P < 0.05). The proportions of the Actinomyces species remained stable in the antibiotic group but showed a statistically significant reduction in the control group from 1 to 2 y in subjects achieving a low risk clinical profile for future disease progression (i.e., = 4 sites with probing depth [PD] <= 5 mm). The test group also had a lower mean number of sites with PD >= 5 mm (3.5 +/- 3.4) and a higher percentage of subjects reaching the low risk clinical profile (76%) than the control group (14.7 +/- 13.1 and 22%, respectively) (P < 0.05) at 2 y posttreatment. MTZ + AMX intake was the only significant predictor of subjects achieving the low risk at 2 y (odds ratio, 20.9; P = 0.0000). In conclusion, the results of this study showed that the adjunctive use of MTZ + AMX improves the microbiological and clinical outcomes of SRP in the treatment of subjects with generalized chronic periodontitis and type 2 DM up to 2 y (ClinicalTrials. gov NCT02135952).