Locally delivered coconut oil in nonsurgical therapy of stage II and III grade B periodontitis: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract Background and aim The study aims to evaluate and compare the effect of scaling and root debridement alone versus the use of topically applied coconut oil as adjunctive to scaling and root debridement in the treatment of Stage II and III Grade B periodontitis. Patients and methods Thirty-six patients with stage II and III Grade B periodontitis were randomly allocated to two groups. Group I (Control group) patients were treated with scaling and root debridement alone. Group II (Study group) of scaling and root debridement with a topically applied coconut. Clinical parameters including Plaque index (PI), Gingival index (GI), Probing depth (PD), and Clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Biochemical parameters evaluated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) level at baseline, 1- and 2-months using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results The results revealed that there was a significant reduction in PI, GI, PD, and CAL in the study group following the use of coconut oil as adjunctive to scaling and root debridement when compared with scaling and root debridement alone. Also, the study group showed a statistically significant decrease in the mean levels (TNF-α ) than the control group at 1 and 2 months with ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The use of coconut oil as adjunctive to scaling and root debridement may improve the healing outcomes in terms of clinical parameters such as PI, GI, PD, and CAL as well as the reduction of TNF - α levels in crevicular fluid in patients with Stage II and II grade B periodontitis.