Comparative evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal efficacy of mineral trioxide aggregate angelus®, mineral trioxide aggregate plus™, and intermediate restorative material – A microbiological In vitro study

Abstract

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal properties of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) Angelus® (MTA-A), MTA Plus™ (MTA-P), and intermediate restorative material (IRM). Materials and Methods: Pellets of MTA-P, MTA-A, and IRM were prepared to test the influence of these cements on the growth of four oral microbial strains, Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans, using agar diffusion method. The agar was removed, and the manipulated material was placed in the wells thus formed. The pellets were lodged in the seeded wells and incubated at 37°C for 24–72 h, after which the growth inhibition was measured. The data were analyzed using Student's t-test to compare the differences among the three cements at different concentrations. Results: The test results indicated that the antimicrobial activity of MTA-P, on both the microorganisms tested, was very strong, showing a mean inhibition zone of 3.1 mm, which extends over time toward all the strains. The diameters of the inhibition zones for E. faecalis were statistically significantly larger than that for Candida (P < 0.05) for MTA-P, IRM, and MTA-A. Conclusion: The materials showed antimicrobial activity against the tested strains. IRM showed no antimicrobial activity on Candida. The largest inhibition zone was observed for E. fecalis group. MTA-P created larger inhibition zones than MTA-A and IRM.