Aloe vera and Probiotics in Treatment of Chronic Periodontitis Patients: A Clinicoradiographic Study

Introduction: Periodontitis describes a chronic inflammatory disease resulting in destruction of the tissues that support the teeth. In recent years, various host- response modulation therapies and local drug therapies have been developed to block the pathways responsible for periodontal tissue breakdown. The objective of this study was to compare and evaluate the efficacy of aloe vera gel as local drug delivery and probiotic as lozenges in treatment of chronic periodontitis using clinical and radiographic parameters. Methodology: The study involved 32 chronic periodontitis patients visiting the Department of Periodontics in a dental college of Karnataka. The patients were randomly allotted into two groups; A and B and were irrespectively subjected to routine Scaling and Root Planing. As an adjunct, aloe vera gel in group A and probiotic lozenges in group B were adopted as schemes for treatment. The clinical parameters and radiographic assessments were performed using appropriate techniques. The values in clinical parameters were recorded at baseline, one month and two months. Radiographic assessment was done using ProImage digital radiography software appreciating difference in terms of bone density and noting the gain, loss or similar levels post treatment at two months in both groups. The collected data for clinical and radiographic parameters was assessed by statistical analysis using independent t test for intergroup comparison and paired t test for intragroup comparison and Chi square test using a statistical package SPSS version 20.0. Results: The intergroup results did not show any statistical significance but results indicated aloe vera apparently better over probiotics in the present study. The radiographic assessment revealed 57.1% gain in bone density in both the groups though statistically non-significant. Conclusion: Both aloe vera and probiotic in the light of present observation have unfolded as novel and effective treatment modalities in controllin