Peridex

INDICATION: Peridex is indicated for use between dental visits as part of a professional program for the treatment of gingivitis as characterized by redness and swelling of the gingivae, including gingival bleeding upon probing. Peridex has not been tested among patients with acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG). For patients having coexisting gingivitis and periodontitis, see PRECAUTIONS .

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: Peridex therapy should be initiated directly following a dental prophylaxis. Patients using Peridex should be reevaluated and given a thorough prophylaxis at intervals no longer than six months. Recommended use is twice daily oral rinsing for 30 seconds, morning and evening after toothbrushing.

Usual dosage is 15ml (marked in cap) of undiluted Peridex. Patients should be instructed to not rinse with water or other mouthwashes, brush teeth or eat immediately after using Peridex. Peridex is not intended for ingestion and should be expectorated after rinsing.

WARNINGS: The effect of Peridex on periodontitis has not been determined. An increase in supragingival calculus was noted in clinical testing in Peridex users compared with control users. It is not known if Peridex use results in an increase in subgingival calculus. Calculus deposits should be removed by a dental prophylaxis at intervals not greater than six months.

Anaphylaxis, as well as serious allergic reactions, have been reported during postmarketing use with dental products containing chlorhexidine. SEE CONTRAINDICATIONS .

CONTRAINDICATIONS: Peridex should not be used by persons who are known to be hypersensitive to chlorhexidine gluconate or other formula ingredients.

Pregnancy: Teratogenic Effects. Reproduction studies have been performed in rats and rabbits at chlorhexidine gluconate doses up to 300mg/kg/day and 40mg/kg/day, respectively, and have not revealed evidence of harm to fetus. However, adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women have not been done.

Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, this drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.

Nursing Mothers: It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when Peridex is administered to nursing women. In parturition and lactation studies with rats, no evidence of impaired parturition or of toxic effects to suckling pups was observed when chlorhexidine gluconate was administered to dams at doses that were over 100 times greater than that which would result from a person's ingesting 30ml (2 capfuls) of Peridex per day.

ADVERSE REACTIONS: The most common side effects associated with chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinses are: 1) an increase in staining of teeth and other oral surfaces; 2) an increase in calculus formation; and 3) an alteration in taste perception, see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS . Oral irritation and local allergy-type symptoms have been spontaneously reported as side effects associated with use of chlorhexidine gluconate rinse. The following oral mucosal side effects were reported during placebo-controlled adult clinical trials: aphthous ulcer, grossly obvious gingivitis, trauma, ulceration, erythema, desquamation, coated tongue, keratinization, geographic tongue, mucocele, and short frenum. Each occurred at a frequency of less than 1%. Among post marketing reports, the most frequently reported oral mucosal symptoms associated with Peridex are stomatitis, gingivitis, glossitis, ulcer, dry mouth, hypesthesia, glossal edema, and paresthesia.

Minor irritation and superficial desquamation of the oral mucosa have been noted in patients using Peridex. There have been cases of parotid gland swelling and inflammation of the salivary glands (sialadenitis) reported in patients using Peridex.