Use of ozone therapy in Implant Dentistry: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Ozone is a potent antioxidant agent which presents an important antimicrobial action and many other biological effects. Although ozone therapy has been widely described and summarized in several other Dentistry areas recently, the studies concerning Dental Implantology have not been systematically compiled and evaluated. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone therapy in dental implant procedures. METHODS: MEDLINE (via PUBMED), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and OpenGrey databases were searched (up to, and including, January 23, 2023) for studies in the English language. In addition, the reference lists of the articles were manually examined. Only interventional studies (controlled clinical trials, randomized or not) were considered eligible for inclusion. The risk of bias in each included study was assessed using the Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials - version 2. RESULTS: 71 potentially eligible records were retrieved but only 5 articles were evaluated and considered eligible for inclusion. Among the studies, 2 addressed clinical situations related to implant insertion, and 3 involved pathological conditions affecting implants in function. Furthermore, only one randomized clinical trial was categorized as low risk of bias. CONCLUSION: The adjuvant use of ozone therapy may positively affect some outcomes in Implant Dentistry, both in treating pathological conditions and conducting rehabilitation (implant installation, secondary implant stability). However, as most studies have a high risk of bias and high heterogeneity, a definitive conclusion cannot be drawn.

Phototherapies for COVID-19-associated opportunistic oral infections.

Opportunistic infections are widely described in patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, very few studies have addressed those affecting the oral cavity. Given the lack of information on the clinical presentations and the available treatment options, the present study aimed to show a case in which a combination of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) and photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) was used for the management of two concomitant COVID-19-associated opportunistic oral infections (oral pseudomembranous candidiasis and recurrent herpes labialis). Within 7 days and without any systemic drug administration, all the lesions resolved completely, and the patient no longer reported oral pain or discomfort. According to the current case report and taking into consideration the significant gaps in the knowledge and understanding of COVID-19, this combination of phototherapy modalities seems to be a promising tool for managing viral and fungal opportunistic oral infections.