Objective: Irrigation of root canals with antibacterial solutions is a mandatory step to reduce / eliminate micro-organisms or their byproducts from the root canal system. Considering potential side effects and safety concerns of synthetic drugs, herbal alternatives may prove to be advantageous for endodontic usage.
Aim: To compare the antimicrobial effect of 20% ginger ethanolic extract versus 2% chlorhexidine solution as root canal irrigants in primary teeth roots contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis (E.faecalis).
Materials and methods: A total of 75 palatal roots of extracted primary molars were randomly divided into five groups (n=15/group): Group I (negative control group): roots were neither contaminated nor irrigated, Group II (positive control): roots were contaminated with E.faecalis and irrigated with sterile saline, Group III: irrigation with 20 % roots were infected with E. faecalis for 21 days. Thereafter, root canals were irrigated for five minutes with the assigned irrigant. Samples were taken from each canal and transferred to Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) culture medium. Bacterial counts were expressed as colony forming units/ml (CFU/ml).
Results: CHX showed the highest antibacterial activity, followed by 95% ethanol and 20% ginger ethanolic extract solution. While statistically there was no significant difference between ginger ethanolic extract solution and 95% ethanol.
Conclusion: 20% ginger ethanolic extract solution did not show a significant antibacterial effect on E.faecalis when compared to 95% ethanol or 2% CHX.

ginger ethanolic extract solution, Group IV: irrigation with2% chlorhexidine (CHX) solution, GroupV: irrigation with 95% Ethanol solution. After mechanical preparation of root canals, the