EFFICACY OF Aloe vera GEL AS AN ADJUNCT TO SCALING AND ROOT PLANING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS

Background: Periodontal diseases are one of the most common chronic diseases affecting the oral cavity. There are various treatment modalities available for the treatment of periodontitis. Herbal agents have gained much attention as an adjunct treatment modality because of its minimal side effects.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of Aloe vera gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the management of chronic periodontitis.

Materials and Methods: 20 chronic periodontitis patients with pocket depth of 4-5 mm bilaterally were chosen and in one site only SRP alone was performed and on the other site SRP was combined with the use of Aloe vera gel. Clinical parameters used in this study were probing pocket depth, gingival index and plaque index. The parameters were recorded at baseline & after 3 weeks.

Results: There was a reduction in the mean probing pocket depth from 5 mm to 4.213 mm in case of scaling and root planing alone and a drastic reduction from 5 mm to 2.488 mm in the site where Aloe vera gel was used as an adjunct to SRP. We observed a reduction in the mean gingival index from 2.58 mm to 1.375 mm for scaling and root planing alone and a significant reduction from 2.50 mm to 0.55 mm in the site where Aloe vera gel was used as an adjunct to SRP. There was no statistically significant reduction in plaque index values between SRP alone and SRP combined with Aloe vera gel as an adjunct.

Conclusion: According to this study, SRP combined with Aloe vera as an adjunctive therapy resulted in significant improvement in probing pocket depth and gingival index in chronic periodontitis patients.