The Effect of Periodontal Pocket Irrigation Using Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) on Clinical Signs and Oral Bacterial Flora in Patients with Periodontal Disease

The purpose of this study is to investigate alterations of clinical findings and bacterial presence after irrigation of a periodontal pocket with 0.05% Cetylpyridinium Chloride (CPC) solution. Eleven patients (with a probing depth. 4mm) participated in this study for 2 weeks and were classified into three groups. These groups were CPC irrigation group, distilled water (DW) irrigation group and no-irrigation group. To evaluate the clinical changes, plaque index (P1 I), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP) and attachment level (AL) were used. Significant improvements in the clinical findings were observed in the P1 I and G I in all groups. In terms of the changing micro-organism population, the total number of micro-organisms and the ratio of motile rods were decreased in the CPC and DW groups, and this tendency was remarkable in the CPC group. There was no change in the control group. These findings suggest that irrigation with 0. 05% CPC solution was effective in decreasing the principal bacteria associated with periodontal disease.