Efficacy of Curcumin in the Treatment of Chronic Gingivitis: A Pilot Study

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of curcumin mouthwash as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic gingivitis and to compare curcumin to chlorhexidine in terms of its anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients aged 20-40 years with generalised chronic gingivitis were included in the study. They were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 each. In group 1, patients underwent scaling and root planing followed by chlorhexidine mouthwash (SRP/CHX Gr-1); in group 2, patients underwent scaling and root planing followed by curcumin mouthwash (SRP/CUR Gr-2); in group 3, patients underwent only scaling and root planing (SRP Gr-3). Gingival and plaque indices were recorded at baseline (day 0) and 7, 14 and 21 days. Differences between the groups were statistically analysed. Results: The clinical parameters showed improvement in all the three groups compared to baseline. When compared to the scaling and root planing group (Gr-3), both curcumin and chlorhexidine groups were found to have statistically significantly better results (P 0.05). However, when curcumin and chlorhexidine groups were compared, the gingival (Löe and Silness) and plaque index (Silness and Löe) scores were not found to be statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Curcumin is comparable to chlorhexidine as an anti-inflammatory mouthwash. Thus, it can be considered as an effective adjunct to mechanical periodontal therapy. Keywords: chlorhexidine, curcumin, dental plaque, gingivitis