Amoxicillin/metronidazole therapy may improve the effectiveness of scaling and root planing in patients with periodontitis.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence suggests scaling and root planing (SRP) in combination with amoxicillin (AMX)/metronidazole (MET)(SRP + AMX/MET) therapy may be more effective in treating chronic periodontitis(CP) than is SRP alone. CRITICAL SUMMARY ASSESSMENT: Preliminary evidence from a meta-analysis of four randomized clinical trials (RCTs) seems to support the effectiveness of systemic AMX/MET therapy as an adjunct to SRP alone in treating CP, although safety data are incomplete. EVIDENCE QUALITY RATING: Limited.

Response to direct and indirect recruitment for a randomised dental clinical trial in a multicultural population of elders.

OBJECTIVES: Recruitment for randomised clinical trials and community-based studies has received little attention in the dental literature. The goal of this study was to report on our experiences with direct and indirect recruitment methods for a trial to prevent tooth loss in elders. METHODS: A direct approach, consisting of an introductory lecture with the help of a local contact person in each of the nine community centres, resulted in 208 recruits mostly from minority non-English speaking communities (52%), whereas the other 192 recruits who responded to newspaper announcements (48%) were, in large part, from the English-speaking community. RESULTS: The response suggests that a more direct and culturally specific approach is more productive when recruiting elders from ethnic minority groups, whereas elders from the dominant culture can be recruited indirectly and for about half the financial cost through newspaper announcements. CONCLUSION: We conclude, therefore, that both direct and indirect methods are needed to recruit a multiethnic sample of subjects for a trial.