Efficacy of 0.3% Tetrahydrocurcumin Containing Toothpaste in Reducing Gingivitis

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of a toothpaste containing 0.3% tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) in gingivitis reduction using clinical and ayurvedic parameters.
Methods: A randomized, single-center, double-blind, parallel-group clinical study was conducted on healthy subjects (25-70 years) from Delhi, India after review and approval of local IRB. Subjects with a mean Loe-Silness gingival index (GI) score of 1.5, >10% bleeding sites, and mean Turesky modification of Quigley-Hein plaque index (PI) score of 1.0 were included. They were instructed to brush twice daily for 2 minutes with their assigned product (Test: THC toothpaste and Negative Control (NC): commercially available fluoride toothpaste) for 6 months. Oral soft and hard tissue assessments plus PI/GI measurements by a calibrated dental examiner and Ayurvedic visual analog scale (AV-VAS) scoring by an Ayurvedic physician were done at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. AV-VAS was done for raktasrava (gum bleeding), dantamamsa mriduta (sponginess), and shotha (inflammation). Statistical analyses were performed using independent t-test and ANCOVA.
Results: 93 subjects completed the study and 11 subjects were lost to follow up. At baseline, there were no statistically significant differences between the PI, GI and AV-VAS for the two groups. At 3 months, the test showed reductions of 11% plaque severity, 4% whole-mouth plaque, 4% interproximal plaque, 16% bleeding, 12% whole-mouth gingivitis, and 11% interproximal gingivitis (p≤0.05), compared to NC. At 6 months, the test showed reductions of 19% plaque severity, 7% whole-mouth plaque, 6% interproximal plaque, 30% bleeding, 19% whole-mouth gingivitis, and 19% interproximal gingivitis, compared to NC (p≤0.05). AV-VAS showed reductions of 12% bleeding, 13% sponginess, 14% inflammation at 3 months and 25% bleeding, 26% sponginess and 25% inflammation at 6 months, compared to NC (p≤0.05).
Conclusions: The study results demonstrated that 0.3% THC toothpaste provided statistically significant reduction in both clinical and ayurvedic parameters.