Photodynamic Disinfection in the Treatment of Chronic Adult Periodontitis: A Multicenter Clinical Trial

Scaling and root planing (SRP) has been used effectively in periodontal therapy for more than 100 years [1,2], but produces only modest, transient reductions in bacterial load [3,4]. Up to two-thirds of dental patients carry microbes incorporating antibiotic resistance genes, the expression of which can impair systemic or locally-administered adjunctive antibiotic therapy [5]. Photodisinfection is a bactericidal modality based on the generation of oxidative stress on outer membranes of prokaryotes, when light of a matched wavelength illuminates a photosensitive dye near the membrane. This approach avoids the generation of resistance in the target microorganism [6], primarily because the rapidly bactericidal action is generated via physical cell wall destruction rather than interference with biochemical pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of photodisinfection as an adjunct to SRP in the treatment of chronic adult periodontitis.