Postoperative Analgesic and Anti-inflammatory Effectiveness of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and NSAIDs as Adjuncts to Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy for the Management of Periodontitis.

PURPOSE: The authors hypothesize that ginger (Zingiber officinale) tablets and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in reducing postoperative self-rated pain and periodontal parameters (plaque index [PI], gingival index [GI], and probing depth [PD], clinical attachment loss [AL] and marginal bone loss) following non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) in patients with periodontitis. The aim was to compare the postoperative analgesic and anti-inflammatory effectiveness of ginger tablets and NSAIDs as adjuncts to nonsurgical periodontal therapy for the management of periodontitis. Materials and

Methods

Patients with periodontitis were included. All patients underwent NSPT. In groups 1 and 2, patients received postoperative ginger (400 mg) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (400 mg), respectively. Demographic data were collected, and full-mouth periodontal parameters (PI, GI, PD and CAL) were evaluated at baseline and at 7, 14 and 21 days. Self-rated pain scores were assessed at baseline, and at 24 h, 3 and 7 days of follow-up. In both groups, self-rated pain was assessed pre- and postoperatively using the numeric rating scale (NRS). Power analysis was performed on data from a pilot investigation and group comparisons were done. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.01.

RESULTS

Baseline mean NRS scores in groups 1 and 2 were 4.19 ± 0.12 and 4.13 ± 0.08, respectively. All participants had stage II/grade B periodontitis. At baseline, self-rated pain scores were significantly higher among patients in groups 1 and 2 at 24 h (p < 0.01) and 3 days (p < 0.01) of follow-up. In groups 1 (p < 0.01) and 2 (p < 0.01), self-rated pain scores were significantly higher at 24 h compared with 3 days of follow-up. In both groups, there was a significant reduction in PI (p < 0.01), GI (p < 0.01) and PD (p < 0.01) at 7, 14 and 21 days of follow-up compared with baseline.

CONCLUSION

Ginger and traditional NSAIDs are effective in reducing postoperative pain and inflammation following NSPT in patients with moderate periodontitis.