Abstract
Previous studies have shown that metronidazole is effective in the treatment of subgingival microflora associated with destructive periodontitis. The aim of this study was to determine whether tinidazole, a close analogue of metronidazole, would reach sufficient concentrations in serum, gingival crevicular fluid, and gingival tissue, to inhibit putative periodontopathic bacteria.
Ten adult patients with moderate to advanced periodontitis took a single 2-g dose of tinidazole orally. Samples were assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations of tinidazole in serum and GCF were in a similar range (3.2-46.5 μg/mL). Tinidazole was not detected in the GCF in three of the patients. The drug was found in gingival tissue obtained at two h (0.17 ± 0.14 μg/mg) and six h (0.15 ± 0.18 μg/mg) after oral administration. The mean concentration of tinidazole in serum at 24 h (13 ± 3.0 μg/mL) is greater than the minimum inhibitory concentration for anaerobic bacteria as reported by others. The present data suggest that a single 2-g oral dose of tinidazole may lead to the presence of potentially bactericidal levels of tinidazole for up to 24 h in the periodontal pockets of some patients with periodontitis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
