ARESTIN: targeted treatment for stubborn pockets.

ARESTIN is a powdered antibiotic (minocycline) packaged in tiny microspheres. After scaling and root planing, we place a small amount directly into a periodontal pocket. The microspheres release the antibiotic gradually over the next three weeks, killing bacteria where they’ve dug in.

Because ARESTIN works locally, the dose is much smaller than what you’d get from oral antibiotics — which means fewer side effects, no concern about disrupting gut bacteria, and no interaction with most medications.

We don’t use ARESTIN routinely. Most patients with gum disease respond well to scaling and root planing alone, and we’d rather not add a treatment that isn’t needed. ARESTIN is reserved for stubborn pockets that haven’t shrunk after a thorough deep cleaning.

The placement itself takes only a few minutes per site, and there’s no anesthetic needed because we’ve already done the deep cleaning. You’ll be asked to avoid hard, crunchy foods for a week and to skip flossing those specific teeth for ten days while the microspheres do their work.