Treatment of oral fungal infections using antimicrobial photodynamic therapy: a systematic review of currently available evidence

The aim was to review the efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of oral fungal infections. To address the focused question "Should PDT be considered a possible treatment regimen for oral fungal infections?" PubMed/Medline and Google-Scholar databases were searched from 1997 up to March 2014 using various combinations of the following key words: "Candida albicans"; "Candidiasis"; "Candidosis"; "denture stomatitis"; "oral" and "photodynamic therapy". Original studies, experimental studies and articles published solely in English language were sought. Letters to the editor, historic reviews and unpublished data were excluded. Pattern of the present literature review was customized to mainly summarize the pertinent information. Fifteen studies (3 clinical and 12 experimental) were included. All studies reported antimicrobial PDT to be an effective antifungal treatment strategy. One study reported PDT and azole therapy to be equally effective in the treatment of oral fungal infections. Methylene blue, toluidine blue and porphyrin derivative were the most commonly used photosensitizers. The laser wavelengths and power output ranged between ∼455 nm-660 nm and 30 mW-400 mW. The energy fluence ranged between 26-245 J cm(-2) and the duration or irradiation ranged between 10 seconds and 26 minutes. Clinical effectiveness of antimicrobial PDT as a potent therapeutic strategy for oral fungal infections requires further investigations.