Effects of Curcuma as an adjunct therapy on periodontal disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Periodontal disease (PD) is the second most prevalent buccal infectious condition in adults. Owing to its multifactorial etiology, treatment and maintenance are challenging. Scaling and root planing, associated with adequate plaque control, are considered the gold standard treatments for this disease. However, the instrumentation techniques can fail to completely eliminate calculus, particularly in higher grade and progression rated PD cases, and the continuing efficient removal of the biofilm by the patient can limit the long-term response of this treatment. Anti-infective herbal products, such as Curcuma, have been added as adjuvant therapy to prolong periodontal treatment outcomes. Objective: This systematic review aimed to summarize and evaluate whether Curcuma can contribute to PD treatment when applied as an adjunct to the standard scaling and root planing therapy. Data sources: We searched databases using specific keywords and Boolean operators and systematically conducted the extraction and analysis according to the PROSPERO (CRD42019145691) database. The main eligibility criteria were randomized clinical trials in humans published in the English language. Results: Twelve studies were included in the review and 11 in the meta-analysis. Quantitative analysis of different clinical parameters was described. In comparison with the control group, Curcuma was associated with a reduction in pocket depth after 90 days of treatment (mean deviation: 0.48; 95% confidence interval: 0.89-0.08). Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that Curcuma is an effective product when applied as adjunct therapy for PD treatment. This improved the clinical and microbiological parameters.

Automated summary

Curcuma, when used as an adjunct therapy for periodontal disease, has shown to significantly reduce pocket depth and improve clinical and microbiological parameters.