Comparing the antimicrobial efficacy of pediocin with chlorhexidine and calcium hydroxide as intracanal medicaments against persistent root canal infections.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study is to compare the antimicrobial activity of pediocin with chlorhexidine (CHX) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)) against and biofilms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The prepared root canals of 80 teeth were contaminated with ( = 40) and ( = 40) for 21 days to create biofilms. The samples in each group were allocated randomly into the following four subgroups ( = 10) according to the decontamination protocol: Group 1: 1% Pediocin, Group 2: 2% CHX, Group 3: Ca(OH), and Group 4: saline (negative control). At 5 days, the antimicrobial efficacy of the medicaments against and was assessed by collecting dentin shavings from the canal walls created using Gates Glidden drill sizes 4 and 5, corresponding to a depth into the root canal walls of 200 μm and 400 μm, respectively. The total number of colony-forming units (CFUs) was counted. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the difference in CFUs between the two depths ( > 0.05).

RESULTS

There was no bacterial growth in samples treated with pediocin, CHX, or Ca(OH) at either depth.

CONCLUSION

In this laboratory experimental model, pediocin exhibited the same antimicrobial properties against and as CHX and Ca(OH)