Table 4.

Anticaries aPDT treatment.

Author/year	Study design	Study groups	Photosensitizer type/concentration	Light type and irradiation parameters	Microorganism	Follow-up periods	Outcomes
Alsaif et al. (2021)	Randomized clinical trial	Control 1: no Erythrosine, no light Control 2: Erythrosine, no light Test 1: aPDT (continuous light) Test 2: aPDT (pulsed)	Erythrosine, 220 μM	Tungsten filament Lamp: 500–550 nm, 400 W, 22.7 mW/cm2, 15 min, or 5*30 s Single session	NR	2 weeks	Treatment groups had significantly higher reduction in their CFU compared to the control groups. No statistically significant difference was observed between the four treatment groups. Using either 2 min or 15 min incubation times after 15 min continuous irradiation showed Significant reductions in the CFU count.
Alves et al. (2019)	Randomized clinical trial	Test: aPDT Control: non-aPDT treatment	Methylene blue, 0.005%	Diode laser: 660 nm, 100 mW, 640 J/cm2, 180 s Single session	Streptococcus mutans	6 months	aPDT treatment following caries removal showed a significant reduction in the S. mutans CFU compared to the control group. aPDT had no considerable effects regarding retention, marginal adaptation and discoloration, secondary caries, and color of the restoration compared to the control group.
Ichinose-Tsuno et al. (2014)	Randomized clinical trial	Test: aPDT Control: without aPDT	Toluidine blue O, 1 mg/ml	Red LED: 600–700 nm, 20 s Six sessions	NR	4 days	Plaque deposition areas and the total number of bacteria in the dental plaque were considerably reduced in the aPDT group compared to the control group.
Lima et al. (2022)	Randomized clinical trial	Test 1: biofilm before aPDT Test 2: biofilm 1 min after aPDT Test 3: biofilm before aPDT Test 4: biofilm 5 min after aPDT	Methylene blue, 0.01%	Diode laser: 660 nm, 90 J/cm2, 1.1 W/cm2, 100 s Single session	NR	NR	Both treatment groups demonstrated a decrease in the number of bacteria. The most evident reduction was noticed in the group with a 5 min pre-irradiation time.
Longo et al. (2012)	Randomized clinical trial	Test: ART + aPDT Control: ART	Aluminum-chloride-phthalocyanine (AlClPc),	Red laser: 660 nm, 180 J/cm2, 250 mW/cm2, 180 s Single session	NR	NR	Cationic liposomes containing AlClPc as PS was able to efficiently reduce the bacterial count in an infected dentin and has enough safety for clinical use.
Melo et al. (2015)	Randomized clinical trial	Test: aPDT Control: non-aPDT treatment	Toluidine blue O, 100 μg/ml	LED: 630 nm, 150 mW, 94 J/cm2 Single session	Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus spp.	NR	Cariogenic microbial load in deep dentinal caries was significantly decreased after aPDT.
Steiner-Oliveira et al. (2015)	Randomized clinical trial	Test: aPDT with TBO Test 2: aPDT with MB Control: chlorhexidine	Toluidine blue O, 0.1 mg/ml Methylene blue, 0.01%	LED: 630 nm, 30 J/cm2, 60 s Single session Red laser: 660 nm, 320 J/cm2, 90 s Single session	Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Lactobacillus casei, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Atopobium rimae	6 and 12 months	There were no statistically significant differences among the three protocols.
Tahmassebi et al. (2015)	Randomized clinical trial	Group 1: Control + aPDT test (varied concentrations of PS) Group 2: Control + aPDT test (varied light dose)	Erythrosine, 22 and 220 μM	Tungsten filament Lamp: 535 nm, 400 W, 22.7 mW/cm2 Single session	NR	2 weeks	Group 1: Bacterial reduction was observed in an erythrosine dose-dependent manner. The total bacterial counts were significantly lower in the 220 μM erythrosine group compared with the 22 μM group. Group 2: Bacterial reduction was observed in an erythrosine light dose-dependent manner. 15 min continuous irradiation and cut-off light irradiation of 5 * 1 min were the most effective regimens for reducing bacteria with 220 μM erythrosine.

NR, not reported; nm, nanometers; μM, micrometer; mW, milliwatts; s, seconds; PS, photosensitizer: ART, atraumatic restorative treatment.