Authors:
Patri´cia Valente Araujo
Maria Esperanza Cortes
Luiz Thadeu de Abreu Poletto
Restorative Dentistry Department (ODR-FO-UFMG), Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627 Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, CEP 31270-901 Minas Gerais, Brazil

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the current status of the photodynamic therapy (PDT) against cariogenic micro-organisms. Publications with abstracts, published in English and available online in PubMed, were included. To identify relevant publications, all abstracts obtained from the search in PubMed were read independently by the authors. In total, 19 studies were reviewed. It was difficult to compare the results among all the studies because of their heterogeneity regarding photosensitizer, light source, exposure time, and photosensitizer incubation period before the irradiation. All but one in vitro studies assessed showed significant killing of micro-organisms demonstrating the antibacterial effect of PDT against cariogenic bacteria. Due to heterogeneity in the treatment parameters, there are no available clinical protocols to apply the PDT in vivo and further works are now being undertaken to make this treatment clinically accessible and to determine the efficacy of PDT on carious dentin in vivo.