Photodynamic Therapy as a New Therapeutic Approach for Oral Lichen Planus

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) was investigated as a potential treatment for oral lichen planus (OLP), a chronic inflammatory disease affecting 0.5–2% of the population. While PDT showed promise due to its ability to induce apoptosis in inflammatory cells and offered a minimally invasive option with few side effects, the results were inconsistent. This inconsistency was attributed to variations in photosensitizers, light sources, and wavelengths used in studies. Comparisons with corticosteroids, the current gold standard, showed mixed results, with corticosteroids generally providing better symptom improvement and lower relapse rates. Despite some studies showing significant lesion improvement with PDT, the lack of standardization and short follow-up periods highlighted the need for further research to optimize treatment parameters and establish PDT's efficacy.