30 June 2023

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Home photodynamic therapy as a means of prevention

Gianna Maria Nardi

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The clinical state of eubiosis in the oral cavity is conditioned by home oral hygiene and by the dexterity expressed in the use of dedicated tools, by diet and by the perception it has. Patients need regular prevention methods to control the oral cavity according to the risk index.

The behavioral change of correct lifestyles and the adherence to home therapies of assisted persons are influenced by how prepared the operator is to involve them in the reasoned choice of appropriate technologies that facilitate home hygiene control, in a concordance approach, which sees the assisted person active in choosing the therapeutic process.

The evolution of sophisticated technologies makes it possible to support the patient in counteracting clinical conditions of dysbiosis that activates dental-periodontal pathologies.

Photodynamic therapy is an adjuvant in the treatment of peri-implantitis and associated with mechanical (scaling) and surgical (grafting) treatments for the control of peri-implant disease. 

Home photodynamic therapy has been studied as a means of prevention for the control of bacterial biofilm. The new Lumoral device (Koite Health) allows an anti-inflammatory treatment in cases of tertiary prevention, i.e., in the maintenance of complex periodontal situations of patients undergoing periodontal and implant treatment.

ICG-based PDT is effective and reduces the amount of known oral pathogens, with compensated bacterial growth in species associated with good oral health, but without a change in overall bacterial diversity. The treatment can be applied specifically to dental plaque and the anti-inflammatory effect can prevent the development of early gingivitis.

The applications of the home device are customized according to the present clinical condition. This technology, according to the literature, can be an interesting means of prevention for the control of bacterial biofilm, in those patients who demonstrate criticality in managing the control of eubiosis in the oral cavity. 

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