Abstract
Background
While professional dental treatments are mandatory for advance periodontitis, maintaining proper oral hygiene can significantly contribute to preventing disease progression. Some herbal toothpastes and natural plant components may have some beneficial properties. Aloe vera is a medicinal plant with active ingredients that show antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. A toothpaste containing salt and Aloe vera may have adjunctive influence to non-surgical periodontal treatment.
Aim
This randomized parallel-group comparison study aimed to investigate the efficacy of an Aloe vera toothpaste (test group) compared to a Sodium bicarbonate toothpaste (control group) and a base toothpaste (benchmark group), with respect to outcomes of periodontitis treatment.
Methods
Fifty-four periodontitis patients were arbitrarily allotted into three groups. All subjects received mechanical instrumentation and instruction on oral hygiene using a toothbrush with these toothpastes and dental floss for a whole period of the study. The participants were evaluated at baseline (T0), week 4 (T1), and week 12 (T2) after complete full mouth scaling and root planing. During the visits, plaque score (PS), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were assessed and analyzed.
Results
The comparison groups had similar mean PS and BOP at baseline. At T1 and T2, both scores were reduced, however there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups for PS. A significant reduction in BOP score among the groups was observed (p < 0.01) at T1. The PD in all groups were reduced significantly after non-surgical periodontal treatment. The CAL reduction was superior in the test group compared to the benchmark and the control group. In addition, there was no significant difference in the mean CAL among time points in the both benchmark and control groups.
Conclusions
Aloe vera toothpaste significantly decreased gingival bleeding, probing depth, and clinical attachment level in periodontitis patients during active periodontal treatment.