Evaluation of the clinical efficacy of green tea extract gel as local drug delivery for periodontitis.

Background: Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by periodontal pocket formation, clinical attachment loss, and destruction of alveolar bone. Its conventional treatment primarily involves mechanical debridement and plaque control, but localized antimicrobial therapy offers site-specific advantages. While antibiotics such as metronidazole and doxycycline are commonly used, green tea extract, which is rich in epigallocatechin gallate, has been proposed as a promising alternative for local drug delivery due to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

Aim: To compare the clinical efficacy of green tea extract gel and ornidazole gel as adjuncts to scaling and root planing (SRP) in patients with periodontitis.

Methods: Teeth with probing pocket depths (PPD) of 4-7 mm were selected. Participants' baseline oral hygiene index-simplified, plaque index, clinical attachment loss, and PPD were recorded. The participants were randomized into two groups: One received green tea extract gel after SRP, and the other received ornidazole gel. Subgingival drug delivery was performed, and participants refrained from brushing or interproximal cleaning for ten days. Their clinical parameters were re-evaluated after one month.

Results: The PPD decreased significantly from baseline to one month in both groups. However, the green tea extract gel group exhibited superior outcomes to the ornidazole gel group, with a mean difference in PPD of 0.28 ± 0.78 mm at one month (P < 0.007).

Conclusion: As an adjunct to SRP, green tea extract gel showed greater efficacy in improving clinical periodontal parameters than ornidazole gel.