Assessment of Photodynamic Therapy With Annatto and Led for the Treatment of Halitosis in Mouth-Breathing Children

All 52 participants were instructed through a lecture on how to perform toothbrushing with a fluoridated toothpaste (Colgate T®) and dental flossing three times per day after meals for 30 days. The Bass technique was taught, by which the bristles should be positioned at an approximate angle of 45º to the gingival pocket on both the free and proximal faces, with the performance of short, slightly circular vibrating movements.

All 52 participants were instructed to floss, 3 times a day after meals for 30 days.

Tongue scraping was performed by the same operator for all participants. Posteroanterior movements were performed with the scraper on the dorsum of the tongue, followed by the cleaning of the scraper with gauze. The procedure was performed ten times on each participant to standardize mechanical removal.

One session of aPDT was performed. The annatto photosensitizer was mixed at a concentration of 20% (Fórmula e Ação®, Brazil) in spray form, applied with a sufficient quantity to coat the middle third of the dorsum of the tongue (five sprays) and left for two minutes for incubation. The excess was removed with an aspirator. |The surface of the tongue remained moist with the photosensitizer itself without the use of water. Six points were irradiated with a distance of 1 cm between points, considering the spread of the light and effectiveness of aPDT. The device was previously calibrated at a wavelength of 395-480 nm. Light was irradiated to ensure a beam area of 2 cm in diameter per point. Energy was 9.6 J and exposure time was 20 seconds per point.