The role of photodynamic therapy in Orthodontic treatment

Background and Objective: Common side-effects associated with orthodontic therapy(OT) are dental caries, periodontal disease and white spot lesions. Achievement of oral hygiene maintenance is often challenging during OT. To improve effectiveness of removing the dental plaque, the use of photodynamic techniques has been expected to serve as an adjunct or alternative method. The aim of this study was to summarize the results of researches on aPDT (antimicrobial photodynamic therapy) in OT.Search Method: literature was searched for original papers about aPDT and its role in prevention of gingivitis, periodontitis or dental caries due to OT. The publications were selected using Google Scholar and PubMed for the period of 2014 to 2019. A total of 57 articles in English were found. The articles that were not associated with the topic of research and review articles were deleted. After reviewing 20 articles’ abstracts, the full texts of 7 articles were analyzed.Finding: Studies have showed that aPDT can disinfect metallic instruments used in the treatment of periodontal diseases. Studies also revealed that mechanical debridement (MD) with adjunct aPDT is more effective than MD alone. aPDT has also been used against cariogenic pathogens like Streptococcus mutans and as a result it could prevent caries.Conclusion: The available evidence suggests that aPDT can be used in patients undergoing OT. It can be use as an independent treatment or as an adjunct to SRP. aPDT helps delay gingivitis and formation of white spot lesions and also minimize the risk of periodontal disease related to OT.

Keywords:

photodynamic therapy , Orthodontics , periodontitis , dental caries