engleski

The antibacterial effect of various gutta-percha solvents

Chloroform has been the most widely used solvent in endodontic retreatment, but due to the concerns about its safety, alternatives have been sought. The antimicrobial activity of a solvent can be helpful in destroying any remaining root canal microbes. The purpose of this study was to test the antibacterial activity of several gutta-percha solvents. The solvents used were halothane, eucalyptus oil and orange oil ; the positive control was chloroform and the negative control was 0.9% saline solution. The microbial inoculum of 0.5 McFarland standard of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213) and Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) was used in this study diluted with saline solution in proportion 101:106. Then 0.2 ml solvent was mixed with 0.2 ml bacterial suspension, six samples for each bacterial strain. The samples were hermetically closed and left for 10 and 30 min. Then 0.1 ml were placed on agar plates and stored at 37°C for 24 h. The procedure was repeated once more. The results showed that halothane had the greatest overall antibacterial activity in this study, similar to the positive controls. Halothane destroyed all concentrations of S. aureus and E. faecalis at both time periods. Eucalyptus oil for both time periods showed antibacterial efficacy for S. aureus, but not for E. faecalis which grew depending on standardized inoculum dilution from 106-101 colonies, similar to controls. Orange oil did not show any antibacterial efficacy for both time periods. Staphylococcus aureus and E. faecalis grew on all agar plates depending on standardized inoculum dilution from 106-101 colonies.

eucalyptol; halothane; orange oil; antibacterial effect

ESE Research Abstracts presented at the 9th ESE Congress in Zagreb in October 1999 ; 143–169. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2591.2000.00325.x