Biolm-related infections pose a major problem in the society from both an economical and health perspective. Persisting biolms inside the root canal system after root canal therapy may result in re-infections and persistent apical periodontitis. Enterococcus Faecalis (E.Faecalis) has been found in 38% of the failed root canal-treated teeth. Aim: Evaluation of in vitro antibacterial efcacy of Gentamycin (GMC), Ampicillin (AMP) and their combination with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in root canals infected with E.Faecalis. Methods And Materials: 60 extracted single rooted human teeth were prepared and randomly divided into six groups: Calcium hydroxide (CH), Gentamycin (GMC), Ampicillin (AMP), Gentamycin and N-acetylcysteine (GMC+NAC), Ampicillin and N-acetylcysteine (AMP+NAC) and Normal Saline as a positive control. According to the name of the groups, intracanal medicaments were placed into the canals and the teeth were restored with a temporary lling. After one week, intracanal medicament was removed and the nal count of bacteria was measured. Antibacterial effect of medicament was assessed by measuring the percentage reduction in the colony counts and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the overall antibacterial efcacy of the intracanal medicaments at signicance level of 0.05. Result & Conclusion: Comparatively the combination of Ampicillin and NAC has a higher disruptive effect on biolms when compared to calcium hydroxide.
Read full abstract