Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy as a Co-adjuvant in Endodontic Treatment of Deciduous Teeth: Case Series

To assure the success of endodontic treatment, the root canal must be completely decontaminated. Thus, some methods have been researched in an attempt to effectively eliminate microorganisms from the interior of the root canal system. Among them is conventional endodontic therapy in conjunction with photodynamic therapy (PDT). Five anterior deciduous teeth were treated endodontically with the conventional technique and PDT. For PDT, 0.005% methylene blue was used as a photosensitizer and a 660 nm laser. After the conventional endodontic therapy, the photosensitizer was applied inside the root canal, 3 min of pre-irradiation time, and then, the laser was applied for 40s with an energy of 4J. Afterward, the canal was irrigated with saline solution and the sealing material of the root canal was placed. The microbiological analysis of the samples was collected before and after the treatments were performed. Observing the results obtained in this case series, which showed a bacterial reduction from 37.57% to 100%, and the clear difficulty in the success of endodontic treatment of deciduous teeth, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy can be considered an alternative of easy application that does not generate microbial resistance, to act as a support in the decontamination of the root canals.