SynthesisBMC oral health2025
Effectiveness of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in endodontic infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Photodynamic therapy for caries management: mechanisms, applications, and perspectives.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe key element for a successful root canal treatment is proper cleaning and debridement of the canal. In recent years, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has been used as an adjunct to conventional root canal treatment to reduce postoperative pain and microbial load. This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of aPDT in the reduction of postoperative pain and microbial load during root canal treatment in endodontic infection.
methodsFive electronic databases: Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials using aPDT as a supplement during conventional root canal treatment. Two authors independently performed study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment in duplicate and a third author resolved conflicts. The Risk of Bias (ROB2) tool was used to assess the quality of the studies included in the systematic review, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria.
resultsEleven studies were included in the systematic review, of which five studies reporting postoperative pain after the use of aPDT during endodontic treatment were subjected to meta-analysis. Random-effects meta-analyses found that aPDT significantly reduced postoperative pain measured using visual analogue scale at both 24 h (Standardized mean difference: -1.21) and 72 h (Standardized mean difference: -0.63). While meta-analysis could not be conducted on the remaining six studies due to heterogeneity, the findings suggested a reduction in microbial load. Only three of the eleven studies had a low risk of bias.
conclusionIt can be concluded that aPDT, as an adjunct to chemo-mechanical irrigation, is effective in decreasing postoperative pain and reducing microbial load in endodontic infection.
trial registrationPROSPERO (CRD42024567223).
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