Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in control of periodontal disease

Abstract

Introduction: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of the tissues that surround and support the teeth, bringing about progressive destruction of periodontium. Periodontitis is caused by relatively small group of microorganisms inhabiting the subgingival biofilm. The treatment of periodontal disease aims to remove sub-gingival calculus (calculus) and biofilm deposits. Current treatment techniques implies a recurrent mechanical destruction of oral bacteria or maintaining therapeutic concentrations of antimicrobials in the oral cavity, both of which have their limits and do not give a lasting result. So that we propose to provide an overview of alternative antibacterial therapeutic methodsas photodynamic therapy (PDT), to ascertain the better strategies for control of microbial growth. Photodynamic therapy is a treatment modality based on the activation of exogenous photosensitizing agents by a light source to produce cell damage.

Objective: The presentation aims to study the effectiveness of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an adjunct to nonsurgical treatment of periodontal disease compared to the conventional periodontitis treatment.

Methodology: We present the case of a 38 years old male patient, diagnosed with chronic periodontitis. The patient was not a smoker and did not present any systemic inflammatory and/or infectious diseases, nor was submitted to antibiotics or antiinflamatory drugs in the last 6 months. The treatment procedure involved a split-mouth method (2 arches treated with conventional mechanical periodontal therapy plus phodynamic disinfection and 2 arches treated only by conventional therapy). The periodontal status (bleeding on probing, periodontal probing depth and plaque index) was re-assesed at 2 weeks and 3 months post-therapy.

Results: Nearly all photodynamic activations caused a statistically significant improvement of the periodontal status, with reduction in probing depth and bleeding on probing.

Conclusion: Within the limits of the present methodology, it can be concluded that antimicrobial photodynamic therapy seems to be a reliable adjunctive therapeutic method of treatment the periodontitis. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy may hold promise as a substitute for currently available chemotherapy in the treatment of periodontal diseases.