Efficacy of aloe vera gel as an adjuvant treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE

Definitive therapy is not defined for the management of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF). This study evaluated the efficacy of aloe vera gel as an adjuvant treatment of OSMF.

STUDY

DESIGN

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 subjects with OSMF divided into medicinal treatment (submucosal injection of hyaluronidase and dexamethasone, n = 30) and surgical treatment (n = 30) categories. Each category was randomly divided into groups A (with aloe vera, n = 15 per category) and B (without aloe vera, n = 15 per category). Follow-up assessment for various symptoms was performed, and results were analyzed using paired and unpaired Student t tests.

RESULTS

The group receiving aloe vera had a significant improvement in most symptoms of OSMF (P < .01) compared with the non-aloe vera group, in both the medicinal and surgical categories.

CONCLUSIONS

Aloe vera gel was effective as an adjuvant in treatment of OSMF.