Treatment of recurrent herpes of the lower lip skin region with photodynamic therapy and photobiomodulation: case report.

The aim of the present study is to describe a case report on the treatment of recurrent herpes using Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and Photobiomodulation as the treatments of choice. A 21-year-old white man checked in in the clinic for evaluation of vesicles arranged in the lower lip skin region. The clinical diagnosis was recurrent herpes and, for treatment, PDT was chosen, using 0.1% methylene blue as a photosensitizer and a pre-irradiation time of five minutes. The Therapy XT laser was used, with a wavelength of 660 nm, power of 100 mW, in a spot area of 0.028 cm², using 4 J energy per point, having been applied on 4 points, one in the center of the lesion and three on its laterals, so that it involved the entire extension of the lesion, totaling 16 J. After 24 hours after the application of the PDT, the patient returned for photobiomodulation with a low-power laser with a wavelength of 660 nm, power of 100 mW, using energy of 1 J per point, for 10 s, being applied on 4 points, totaling 4 J. It was possible to observe complete healing after 10 days of treatment, and the patient remains in follow-up for eight months without any recurrences.

Antibacterial Effect of Photodynamic Therapy on Root Canal Disinfection Combined with Different Irrigation Protocols.

Introduction: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging alternative therapy to conventional endodontic treatment to optimize bacterial elimination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial effect of PDT combined with different irrigation protocols on root canals inoculated with Enterococcus (E.) faecalis. Methods and Materials: Ninety uni-radicular human premolars were prepared and contaminated with E. faecalis for 4 days. Teeth were randomly divided into six groups: positive control group (C+) consisted of conventional needle irrigation with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl); negative control group (C-) consisted of no treatment after contamination; PDT group as treated with 0.005% methylene blue and diode laser irradiation for 90 sec at wavelength of 660 nm, energy of 9 Joules, power of 100 mW; the fourth group consisted of NaOCl+PDT, the fifth group were treated with passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) with NaOCl+PDT (PUI+PDT); and the final group were treated with XP Endo Finisher with NaOCl+PDT (XP Endo+PDT). The contents of the root canals were collected with sterile absorbent paper points at two times: before and 24 h after decontamination protocols. The number of colony-forming units (CFU) was determined for each root canal. ANOVA and the Tukey test were used, with significance set at 5% (P<0.05). Results: The inhibition percentage ranged from 10.72 (C-) to 100% (XP Endo+PDT), with CFU/mL counts differing among all protocols tested (P<0.05). The different protocols significantly influenced bacterial inhibition (P<0.05). However, the XP Endo+PDT protocol resulted in the highest inhibition percentage (100%), followed by NaOCl+PDT (65.85%). Conclusions: PDT combined with different final irrigation protocols was more effective in inhibiting E. faecalis growth than photodynamic therapy alone. XP Endo was the best irrigation protocol to eradicate this microorganism.