title: Can Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy (aPDT) Enhance the Endodontic Treatment?
abstract: In order to achieve a long-lasting effect, one of the main goals in root canal treatment is to eliminate the endodontic bacteria. Conventional chemomechanical debridement is considered as the basic treatment in root canal therapy, but adjunctive techniques such as antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) can also be helpful. The aim of this study was to evaluate reports in the scientific literature that used different photosensitizers (PSs) for bacterial reduction. The literature search was conducted using databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar with the keywords "photodynamic therapy," "antimicrobial photodynamic therapy," or "photoactivated disinfection" and "endodontic," "Enterococcus faecalis," or "root canal treatment," from 2000 to 2015. By evaluating different studies, it was concluded that aPDT should be applied in combination with conventional mechanical debridement and irrigants. However, it is also important to note that the success rate is critically dependent on the type of the PS, output power of the laser used, irradiation time, pre-irradiation time, and type of tips used.
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Center of Dentistry, Dental Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nasim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chiniforush
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pourhajibagher
authors.affiliation: Dental biomaterials Department, School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahabi
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Center of Dentistry, Dental Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kosarieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahador
keywords: Antimicrobial; Endodontic; Photodynamic therapy