ArticleBMC oral health2025
Impact of hydrogen peroxide photolysis on viable bacterial count and composition of in vivo dental biofilm-an ex vivo study.
Article 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 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of oxidative therapies in mature oral biofilms: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Pooled it
- Strategies to Enhance the Efficacy and Clinical Translation of Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA bactericidal technique utilizing hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) photolysis, which generates hydroxyl radicals, was developed. Since it has demonstrated the potential to kill in vitro Streptococcus mutans biofilms, this technique has the possibility to be applied to dental caries. However, its efficacy on in vivo cariogenic dental biofilms remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the bactericidal effect of H₂O₂ photolysis on in vivo biofilms obtained from volunteers, focusing on its potential application in dental caries treatment.
methodsSixteen participants, prescreened for the presence of S. mutans and/or lactobacilli in their saliva, wore custom-made splints with hydroxyapatite (HA) discs for 5 days. The discs with 5-day-old biofilms were subjected to H₂O₂ photolysis or control treatments such as H₂O₂, light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation, or water for 90 s, followed by bacterial culturing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Statistical significances were assessed using the Steel–Dwass test. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were also used for biofilm evaluation. Discs with treated-biofilms were reinserted for an additional 5 days to evaluate biofilm regrowth and community shifts.
resultsSEM confirmed biofilm formation on HA surfaces. Bactericidal assays showed that the 90-s treatment with H₂O₂ photolysis significantly reduced viable bacterial counts, achieving a 3.5 log colony-forming unit (CFU)/specimen for total bacteria and a 2.6 log CFU/specimen for total streptococci, compared with 5.9- and 5.4 log CFU/specimen in the untreated controls, respectively (p < 0.05). qPCR confirmed that the bacterial proportion was initially equivalent across the groups and remained unchanged after regrowth. The 16 S sequencing revealed a diverse microbial community dominated by Streptococcus spp. No significant differences in alpha or beta diversity were observed between the treatment groups even after regrowth.
conclusionThese findings suggest that the H₂O₂ photolysis technique can kill bacteria within in vivo biofilms. The observed bactericidal effect supports the potentiality of H₂O₂ photolysis as a promising adjunctive approach for dental caries.
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