EGCG may improve outcome of periodontal non-surgical periodontal treatment: Study

The study is published in the BMC Oral Health Journal.

Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) as green tea catechins possessed antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects on periodontal disease. Green tea catechins extracted from Camellia sinesis have been reported to possess an antibacterial effect against gram-negative anaerobic rods. Mechanical debridement as scaling and root planing (SRP) has been repeatedly demonstrated to be effective to remove subgingival pathogens and lead to an improvement of periodontal status.

Therefore, Yanfeng Wang and colleagues from the Department of Periodontology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Beijing, China conducted this study to evaluate the clinical and microbiological efficacy of scaling and root planing (SRP) using EGCG aqueous solution as coolants through a new-type ultrasonic scaler tip on chronic periodontitis.

This split-mouth, the randomized clinical trial included 20 patients (2 drop-outs) with chronic periodontitis and the maxillary contra-lateral sides were allocated into test and control groups randomly. Through the new-type scaler tip, 762 sites with probing depth (PD) ≥ 4 mm were treated by SRP using EGCG solution or distilled water as coolants respectively. Clinical parameters and red complex pathogens in the subgingival microbiome were evaluated at baseline, 3, and 6 months after treatments.

It was seen that during 6 months, the SRP plus EGCG medication contributed to additional PD reduction as 0.33 mm and gain of clinical attachment level as 0.3 mm compared with SRP alone, an approximate 8% more sites obtained PD reduction ≥ of 2 mm (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the mean relative abundance of Tannerella forsythia was significantly lower in the combined treatment group (p < 0.05).

Hence, the authors concluded that "the purified EGCG showed the potential to improve the outcome of non-surgical periodontal treatment and the new-type scaler tip provided an alternative vehicle for subgingival medication."