Objective To evaluate the efficacy of minocycline as an adjunct to scaling and root planning(SRP)in treating chronic periodontitis. Methods 64 male smokers with moderate to advanced periodontitis were randomly divided into two groups: SRP alone（SRP） and SRP plus minocycline（SRP+M）. All clinical parameters including plaque index（PlI）, gingival index（GI）, bleeding on probing（BOP）, probing depth（PD）and attachment gain were recorded at baseline, 3 and 6 months after treatment. Results According to PlI, GI and BOP, there was no significant difference between the two groups at 3 and 6 months after periodontal therapy（P＞0.05）. However, PD reduction and attachment gain were significantly greater for SRP+M than that for SRP（P＜0.05）. For SRP+M and SRP groups, PD reduction were 1.98 mm and 1.32 mm, and attachment gain were 1.87 mm and 1.14 mm respectively. Deep pockets in SRP+M group showed more obvious PD reduction（3.48 mm versus 2.21 mm, P＜0.01） and attachment gain（2.62 mm versus 1.23 zmm, P＜0.01） than that in SRP group. Conclusion Treatment with SRP plus locally delivered minocycline is more effective than SRP alone in male smokers with chronic periodontitis. Mechanical debridement plus locally delivered antibiotics are recommended especially for smokers with deep pocket periodontitis.
