title: Bactericidal Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy Against Periodontal Pathogens in Periodontal Disease: A Systematic Review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the bactericidal efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic dynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) against periodontal pathogens.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  SRP followed by laser therapy has better clinical outcomes than conventional SRP alone.
  
  
  METHODS
  The question addressed was "Does aPDT as an adjunct to SRP exhibit better bactericidal effect against periodontal pathogens than the use of SRP alone in periodontal disease?" MEDLINE(®)/PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched from 1977 to December 2015, using different combinations of key words. Review articles, in vitro and experimental studies, and articles in languages other than English were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen clinical studies were included. Laser wavelengths and duration of irradiation ranged between 470 and 810 nm and 60 and 300 sec, respectively. All studies showed that aPDT application was effective in reducing the counts of periodontal microbes at follow-up. Four studies showed significantly reduced bacterial counts for aPDT as an adjunct to SRP compared with SRP alone. Thirteen studies showed comparable reduction in the counts of periodontal bacteria when aPDT alone or as an adjunct to SRP was compared with SRP alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The bactericidal efficacy of aPDT as an adjunct to SRP against periodontal pathogens in periodontal disease remains debatable.
authors.affiliation: 1 Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
authors.forename: Zohaib
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Akram
authors.affiliation: 2 General Practitioner , Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Saud A Aziz
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Al-Shareef
authors.affiliation: 3 Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Prince Philip Dental Hospital, University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong .
authors.forename: Umer
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Daood
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University , Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Faris Yahya
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Asiri
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Altaf H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: M Ayedh
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: AlQahtani
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Fahim
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vohra
authors.affiliation: 7 Advanced General Dentistry. Division of General Dentistry, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester , New York.
authors.forename: Fawad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Javed
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012534:Dental Scaling; D006801:Humans; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010778:Photochemotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016745:Root Planing
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents