What is Arestin®?
Arestin® is a locally administered antibiotic. It is a small amount of powder that is easily applied by a dental professional. It gets deposited under the gumline, directly into the infected pocket. Arestin® works well in conjunction with scaling and root planing. The antibiotic powder will remain in the pocket for up to 21 days. This allows the time release antibiotic to kill the bacteria in your pockets directly getting to the diseased area where its needed without the side effects of taking oral pills for 2 weeks that effects your whole body (not to mention that you have to remember to take the pills 4x/day for 2 weeks).
Arestin® is Minocycline, which is also in the tetracycline class of antibiotics.