AREAS COVERED: In Central Asia, the number of new AIDS cases increased by 29%. It is more endemic in the poor population with variations in the cost of illness. Dengue is prevalent in more than 100 countries, including the Asia-Pacific region. In Southeast Asia, the annual economic burden of dengue fever was between $ 610 and $ 1,384 million, with a per capita cost of $ 1.06 to $ 2.41. Globally, 2.9 billion people are at risk of developing malaria, 90% of whom are residents of the Asia and Pacific region. The annual per capita cost of malaria control ranged from $ 0.11 to $ 39.06 and for elimination from $ 0.18 to $ 27.

METHODS: The addressed focused question was "Is aPDT effective in the treatment of AgP?" MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, ISI Web of knowledge and Google-Scholar databases were searched from 1977 till May 2015 using combinations of the following keywords: antimicrobial; photochemotherapy; photodynamic therapy; photosensitizing agents; AgP; scaling and root-planing (SRP). Reviews, case reports, commentaries, and articles published in languages other than English were excluded.

RESULTS: Seven studies were included. In 5 studies, aPDT was performed as an adjunct to SRP. Laserwavelengths and duration of irradiation ranged between 660-690 nm and 60-120 s, respectively. Laser power output as reported in 2 studies was 75 mW. One study showed significant improvement in periodontal parameters for subjects receiving aPDT as an adjunct to SRP as compared to treatment with SRP alone at follow up. However, comparable periodontal parameters were reported when aPDT as an adjunct to SRP was compared to SRP alone in the treatment of AgP in one study. One study showed comparable outcomes when aPDT was compared to SRP in the treatment of AgP. In two studies, adjunctive antibiotic administration to SRP showed significantly better outcomes when compared to application of adjunctive use of aPDT to SRP.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate crestal bone loss (CBL) around zirconia dental implants and clinical periimplant inflammatory parameters.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The focus question addressed was, "Do zirconia implants maintain crestal bone levels and periimplant soft tissue health?" Databases were searched for articles from 1977 through September 2014 with different combinations of the following MeSH terms: "dental implants," "zirconium," "alveolar bone loss," "periodontal attachment loss," "periodontal pocket," "periodontal index." Letters to the editor, case reports, commentaries, review articles, and articles published in languages other than English were excluded.

RESULTS: Thirteen clinical studies were included. In 8 of the studies, the CBL around zirconia implants was comparable between baseline and follow-up. In the other 5 studies, the CBL around zirconia implants was significantly higher at follow-up. Among the studies that used titanium implants as controls, 2 studies showed significantly higher CBL around zirconia implants, and in 1 study, the CBL around zirconia and titanium implants was comparable. The reported implant survival rates for zirconia implants ranged between 67.6% and 100%. Eleven studies selectively reported the periimplant inflammatory parameters.

METHODS: Databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register databases) were searched up to and including July 2016. The primary outcome was probing depth (PD), and the secondary outcomes were changes in clinical attachment level (CAL) and bone defect (BD) fill. The mean differences (MD) of outcomes and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each variable were calculated using random effect model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The addressed focused question was "Is SLT effective in the management of OPL?" Databases (MEDLINE via PubMed; EMBASE; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register databases) were searched from 1970 up to and including February 2017.

RESULTS: Ten studies were included. The reported number of OPL ranged between 8 and 140. Oral pigmented sites included, gingiva, buccal and labial mucosa, alveolar mucosa and lips. Lasers used in the studies included Q-switched alexandrite, Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet, diode, Erbium: yttrium aluminium garnet and carbon dioxide laser. Laser wavelength, power output and number of irradiations were 635-10,600nm, 1-10W and 1 to 9 times, respectively. The follow up period ranged from 6 to 24months. All studies reported SLT to be effective in the treatment of OPL. In five studies, recurrence of OPL occurred which ranged from 21.4% to 45%.

METHODS: in order to address the focused question: Is aPDT a useful therapeutic protocol for oral decontamination?, an electronic search without time or language restrictions was conducted up to July 2017 in indexed databases using the combination of different key words including photochemotherapy, lasers, photodynamic therapy, disinfection, mouth, saliva and oral. The exclusion criteria included reviews, case-reports, case-series, commentaries, letters to the editor, interviews, and updates. Four randomized control trials were included and processed for data extraction.

RESULTS: all studies reported that aPDT was effective in reducing the overall oral microbial load in saliva. Considering the effects of aPDT+photosensitizer (PS) compared with PS alone, there was no heterogeneity noticed for aPDT+PS (Q value=0.15, P=0.69, I(2)=0%). The overall mean difference for bacterial count in CFU/ml between aPDT+PS and PS alone was also not significant (weighted mean difference=-0.41, 95% CI=-1.12 to 0.29, p=0.24) at follow-up.