Tetracycline treatment of periodontal disease in the beagle dog.

Longitudinal studies in this laboratory have been examining the efficacy of tetracycline HCl in the treatment of alveolar bone resorption due to chronic destructive periodontal disease in beagle dogs. Following one year of tetracycline treatment we reported a reduction in the rate of alveolar bone resorption in beagles receiving either 250 or 500 mg daily tetracycline when compared to a group of untreated control beagles. We have continued daily tetracycline treatment in either 250 or 500 mg doses in these beagles for a total of two years in order to more fully evaluate the overall efficacy of tetracycline in having an effect on the periodontal disease process. This report presents data from the conclusion of the 30 month study which was divided into a 6 month pretreatment period and a 24 month treatment period. The results indicate that tetracycline as the sole treatment modality significantly suppressed the rate of alveolar bone resorption over 18 months of the treatment period. During the subsequent six months, the rate of bone resorption in both groups of treated animals returned to baseline rate. The overall effect of daily tetracycline treatment in the 24 month treatment period, compared to a group of untreated control beagles, was the preservation of 20.6% alveolar bone in the 250 mg treated dogs and 44.2% alveolar bone in the 500 mg treated dogs.