Comparative evaluation of octenidine hydrochloride and chlorhexidine as antibacterial root canal irrigant

Abstract

Objectives : To compare and evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal properties of octenidine hydrochloride (OCT) and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) as endodontic root canal irrigant. Materials and Methods : The irrigants tested were various concentrations of OCT (0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1%) and CHX (0.2%, 1% and 2%) with reference bacterial strains of Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC: 29212). NaOCl was used as control. 1 ml of organism suspension made equivalent to Mc Farland 0.5 was contacted with 1 ml of each concentration of irrigation solution and each mixture was removed in 3, 5 and 10 minutes. After 72 hrs of incubation colony counts were measured using a microscope. Inhibition zones measured with Presterilised Whatman paper discs soaked with 20 μl of each irrigant were plated on bacterial plates. Kruskal Wallis test and post hoc tests, that is, Mann Whitney U test and Duncan's-test of multiple comparisons were done. Results: The number of CFUs dropped to zero after 3 minutes contact time with OCT 0.1% and CHX 2.0% with highly significance (P = 0.000). All the concentrations of OCT showed large inhibition zones and zones of CHX 1% and NaOCl 3% groups was significantly less than octenidine. Conclusion: Octenidine hydrochloride is an effective endodontic irrigant.