Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of curcumin gel with and without photo activation as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: A split mouth clinical and microbiological study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Harnessing Mother Nature's bountiful remedies for rejuvenation has been in vogue since time immemorial. Turmeric contains the polyphenol Curcumin in its rhizome. It produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) with visible light irradiation as photodynamic therapy (PDT) - which validates its use in the treatment of periodontitis. This study compares Curcumin and Curcumin PDT as an adjunct to conventional Scaling and Root Planing (SRP) with SRP alone in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty sites in fifteen untreated chronic periodontitis patients were randomly assigned in a split mouth design for one of the treatment modalities; 1) Scaling and root planing (SRP) alone, (2) SRP + Curcumin application for 5 min, (3) SRP + Curcumin application for 5 min + irradiation with blue light emitting diode of wavelength 470 nm for 5 min. (Curcumin PDT) on 0 day.(4) SRP + Curcumin PDT on “0”, 7(th) and 21(st) day. The clinical parameters included plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP) measured by sulcus bleeding index (SBI), probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL) recorded at the baseline & 3(rd) month. The site with greatest probing pocket depth (PPD) was selected from each quadrant for bacterial sampling and culturing for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) and other black pigment producing microorganisms (BPB) like Porphyromonas gingivalis & Prevotella intermedia. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that Curcumin photodynamic therapy is a valuable treatment modality adjunctive to conventional scaling and root planing over Curcumin application. Moreover, multiple adjunctive applications of photodynamic therapy are more beneficial than single application in reducing clinical & microbiological parameters.