Gingivitis is the most prevelant form of periodontal disease. Mechanical plaque control and use of chemotherapeutic agents is the basic treatment for gingivitis, but there are adverse effects of these conventional compounds. This led to the search of natural products which are biocompatible and beneficial. Turmeric(curcuma longa) is a dietary spice ,widely used as a traditional medicine in Asian countries. Curcuma has widespread biological actions. Therefore a study was conducted to evaluate the role of curcuma in the control of plaque and resolution of gingivitis Objective: To evaluate the role of oral curcuma gel in the management of gingivitis as an adjunct to scaling and polishing. Materials And Methods: Twenty subjects diagnosed with chronic gingivitis were selected from the Out Patient Department of Periodontology. After scaling and oral hygiene instructions, subjects were divided in to experimental and control groups consisting of 10 subjects each. Subjects in the experimental group were instructed to apply the oral curcuma gel for 3weeks.The Plaque index, Gingival index and papillary bleeding index were assessed at baseline, 1week, 2week and 3week for control and experimental groups. Results: Plaque index score did not show statistically significant reduction. Experimental group showed statistically significant reduction in Gingival index and papillary bleeding index score at 3 weeks compared to test group. Conclusion: Within the limits of the study it was concluded that oral curcuma gel can be used as an adjunct to scaling in gingivitis patients. This was the first study of its kind conducted to evaluate the role of turmeric (curcuma) in the form of gel as an adjunct to scaling for the treatment of gingivitis.
