Effects of penicillin and erythromycin on the clinical parameters of the periodontium.

The clinical effects of systemic penicillin and erythromycin on the periodontium were investigated. There are only a few studies of the effects of these antibiotics on clinical periodontal parameters. Of the 72 subjects in the study, 24 belonged to the penicillin group, 21 to the erythromycin group and 27 to the control group. Plaque and gingival indices, tooth mobility, and probing depths of gingival pockets were recorded before the drug treatment. Radiographs were taken. Both antibiotics decreased plaque, and erythromycin also decreased gingivitis. In the penicillin group 10 of the 24 patients developed abscesses during the study, and the studied clinical parameters worsened. These patients had more severe periodontitis initially than the persons with no acute reaction. The clinical changes had returned to the baseline level by 12 weeks after the antibiotic treatments. There were no significant or lasting effects of antibiotic treatment alone in patients with overt periodontitis.