Doxycycline (Subgingival)
Chemical Class: Tetracycline (class)
Uses for doxycycline
Doxycycline is used to help treat periodontal disease (a disease of your gums). Periodontal disease is caused by bacteria growing beneath the gum line. Doxycycline works by keeping the number of bacteria from growing. Lowering the amount of bacteria helps to reduce inflammation and swelling in your mouth, and the amount of bleeding around the teeth. Doxycycline is placed in deep gum pockets next to your teeth in order to reduce the depth of the pockets.
Doxycycline will be applied by your dentist or other oral health care professional.
Before using doxycycline
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For doxycycline, the following should be considered:
Allergies
Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to doxycycline or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.
Pediatric
Use is not recommended in infants and children younger than 8 years of age. Tetracyclines, such as doxycycline, may cause permanent discoloration of teeth and slow down the growth of bones. The safety and effectiveness of doxycycline have not been established in children 8 years of age or older.
Geriatric
No information is available on the relationship of age to the effects of doxycycline in geriatric patients.
Breastfeeding
There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding.
Interactions with medicines
Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are receiving doxycycline, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.
Using doxycycline with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take.
- Acitretin
Using doxycycline with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
- Amoxicillin
- Ampicillin
- Ascorbic Acid
- Bacampicillin
- Bexarotene
- Cholera Vaccine, Live
- Cloxacillin
- Desogestrel
- Dicloxacillin
- Dienogest
- Drospirenone
- Estradiol
- Ethinyl Estradiol
- Ethynodiol
- Etretinate
- Gestodene
- Isotretinoin
- Levonorgestrel
- Magnesium Sulfate
- Mestranol
- Methicillin
- Methotrexate
- Methoxyflurane
- Nafcillin
- Nomegestrol
- Norethindrone
- Norgestimate
- Norgestrel
- Oxacillin <...
