Streptococcus mutans is the main etiological agent for dental
caries. Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been introduced as a new modality in
bacterial decontamination.Objective This in vitro study was carried out to evaluate the
susceptibility of Streptococcus mutans to antibacterial PDT using
two different photosensitizers and light sources. Material and Methods Standard suspensions of S. mutans were exposed to laser light at
662 nm and Radachlorin® or LED 630 nm in combination with Toluidine
blue O (TBO). Radiation-only groups, photosensitizer alone, and groups with no
treatment were used as controls. Bacterial suspension from each treatment was
subcultured onto the surface of Mueller-Hinton agar plates and bacterial growth
was assessed. The results were analyzed by analysis of variance and Tukey test
(p<0.05). Results PDT with TBO and Radachlorin® significantly reduced S. mutans
viability, whereas no difference was observed between two groups of PDT.
In the groups treated just with the photosensitizer or irradiated alone, no
significant reduction of S. mutans colonies was observed. ConclusionS. mutans colonies were susceptible to either 662 nm laser or LED light in the
presence of Radachlorin® and TBO respectively with no priority.
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