Efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) for nonsurgical treatment of periodontal disease: a systematic review.

Although the standard treatment for periodontal disease is based on scaling and root planing (SRP), the use of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has been studied as a complement to obtain better clinical results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of aPDT as adjuncts to SRP, compared with SRP alone, on clinical parameters of chronic periodontal patients. Only randomized controlled trials with at least 3-month follow-ups, of SRP alone and in association with aPDT, were included. The MEDLINE (PubMed), Google Scholar, and LILACS databases were searched for articles published up to July 2020. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing pocket depth (PPD) change after treatment. Of 141 potentially relevant papers, 22 were included. The association between SRP and aPDT promoted a significant CAL gain and PPD reduction. Periodontal treatment was partially improved by aPDT, and a favorable effect of indocyanine green-mediated aPDT was observed, and high concentrations of phenothiazine chloride presented clinical improvement as well.