BMC Oral Health (Jun 2019)
The effect of low level laser on number of Candida albicans colonies in-vitro: a new finding
Abstract
Abstract Background Candida albicans is a commensal organism that causes a wide variety of diseases in humans. One of these diseases is oral candidiasis, which occurs at a high recurrence rate in spite of available treatments. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) with the use of nystatin on in-vitro growth of Candida albicans. Method We prepared two samples of Candida albicans at different concentrations: 104 viable cells/ml and 106 viable cells/ml. Specimens from each sample were divided into a control group, a nystatin-treated group, and a group treated with LLLT. The control group was cultured without any intervention. The second group was treated with nystatin and the solution was vibrated for 30 s or 60 s. The third group was irradiated with a gallium-aluminum-argon (Ga-Al-Ar) diode laser (Epic 10; Biolase Inc.)in continuous mode using a wavelength of 940 nm and a power of 1 W for 30 s or 60 s (38 J/cm2 and 76 J/cm2). The specimens from the nystatin group and the LLLT group were cultured and the number of colony-forming units (CFU/ml) for each group was counted and compared. Results Nystatin completely eliminated the colonies (0 colonies) in all specimens. There was an increase in the number of colonies in the LLLT group for both cell concentrations at 30 s and at 60 s. However, this increase was statistically significant only for a concentration of 104 viable cells/ml at an exposure time of 30s. The increase in the concentration of 106 viable cells/ml at both 30 s and 60 s was statistically significant compared with the control group, although the highest number of colonies remained after an exposure time of 60s. Conclusion LLLT led to an increase in the growth of Candida colonies. However, there was no significant difference related to the exposure time between the different cell concentrations.
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