ODONTOLOGÍA Fecha correspondencia: Recibido: enero de 2020. Aceptado: junio de 2020. Forma de citar: Morais-Barros DG, Bezerra-Silva DF, Araújo-de-Freitas G, de Vasconcelos-Neves G, Vieira- Pereira J, Queiroga-de-Castro- Gomes D. Antibacterial efcacy of photodynamic therapy in the disinfection of root canals - Integrative literature review. Rev. CES Odont 2020; 33(2): 147-158. Open access © Derecho de autor Licencia creative commons Ética de publicaciones Revisión por pares Gestión por Open Journal System DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21615/ cesodon.33.2.13 ISSN 0120-971X e-ISSN 2215-9185 Revisión de Tema Antibacterial efcacy of photodynamic therapy in the disinfection of root canals - Integrative literature review Eficacia antibacteriana de la terapia fotodinámica en la desinfección del canales radiculares - Revisión integrativa Eficácia antibacteriana da terapia fotodinâmica na desinfecção de canais radiculares – Revisão integrativa da literatura Danyllo Guimarães Morais-Barros 1 , Diego Filipe Bezerra-Silva 2 ORCID , Gustavo Araújo-de-Freitas 3 , Gabriella de Vasconcelos-Neves 4 ORCID , Jozinete Vieira-Pereira 5 ORCID , Daliana Queiroga-de-Castro-Gomes 6 ORCID 1. Dental Student, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande. 2. DDS, Post Graduate Program in Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande. 3. Dental Student, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grandel. 4. MSc, Post Graduate Program in Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande 5. PhD, Post Graduate Program in Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande. 6. PhD, Post Graduate Program in Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande. Abstract To evaluate the antibacterial efcacy of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) in root canal (RC) disinfection. An integrative review of the literature was per- formed in diferents databases. It was selected articles published between January 2014 and January 2018, in Portuguese, English or Spanish lan- guages, which evaluated, in a clinical trial, the antibacterial efcacy of PDT in RC disinfection. The sample consisted of 05 articles that met all the in- clusion criteria, which analyzed aspects such as: sample; photosensitizer and exposure time; light source, wavelength, potency, energy and time of emission; and results. Most of the studies used single-rooted teeth and methylene blue photosensitizer with pre-irradiation time ranging from 1 to 5 minutes. The LED and the laser were the light sources used, with exposu- re time ranging from 40 to 240 seconds; power from 60 mW to 1000 mW; power density from 2 to 4 mW / cm 2 ; energy of 4 to 9,6 J; and dose from 1.2 mJ / cm 2 to 129 J / cm 2 . It can be concluded that, despite the heterogeneity of the protocols, there was a reduction in the bacterial populations respon- sible for RC infections, and it may be a supporting technique in endodontic therapy. Keywords: Endodontics; Low-Level Light Therapy; Photodynamic Therapy; Root canal.