A neoteric approach to regeneration of intrabony defects using curcumin gel versus bioactive glass as bone replacement material among South Indian population: A randomized controlled trial

The trend of using herbal bone replacement material for the regeneration of periodontal intrabony defects is still underexplored in clinical periodontal practice. As there remains a paucity in scientific information regarding this, the present study was carried out to evaluate and compare clinically and radiographically the effectiveness of curcumin gel and bioactive glass as a BRM in treating intrabony defects among the South Indian population. A total of 60 intrabony defects were randomly divided into Group 1 (30 defects treated with curcumin gel) and Group 2 (30 defects treated with bioactive glass). All clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. All the clinical parameters showed statistically significant intragroup and intergroup improvement at the end of 9 months. There was a statistically significant volumetric bone fill of defect sites, which was 13.64 (61.19%) and 11.51 (49.36%) in Groups 1 and 2, respectively, at the end of 9 months. The present study indicates that curcumin gel has a great potential for bone regeneration in periodontal intrabony defects, along with minimum/no postsurgical side effects due to its herbal nature. Thus, it may serve as a natural alternative to synthetic BRMs.