Abstract:
INTRODUCTION : Disinfection is the main objective of root canal
preparation and whilst irrigation is most commonly used,
another method is Photo-activated Disinfection (PAD).
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : The aim of this in vitro study was
to compare the efficacy of eradication of bacteria from
root canals by six different disinfection protocols.
METHODS : Root canals of 84 extracted human teeth were
prepared to a standardised size and taper. The teeth were
sterilised and then inoculated with E. faecalis. The teeth
were randomly assigned to one of seven groups (n = 12),
each of which underwent a different disinfection protocol.
Dentine samples were plated onto BHI plates and incubated
anaerobically. After five days, colony-forming units
(cfu) were counted. The Pairwise Wilcoxon Rank Sum test
and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis
of the data.
RESULTS : The most effective disinfection protocol was:
3% NaOCl with 2% CHX, followed by 3% NaOCl with
PAD, Chlor-XTRA and 2% CHX. The 3% NaOCl-protocol
performed significantly better than PAD and distilled
water. The PAD-protocol performed significantly better
than distilled water. CONCLUSION : The most efficient protocol in eradicating E.
faecalis from the root canals was 3% NaOCl followed by
irrigation with 2% CHX.
