ABSTRACT
The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the ability of irrigation with sodium hypochlorite employing the (EndoVac) irrigation system and the ultrasonic activated irrigation in comparison with conventional syringe/needle irrigation to eradicate intracanal Enterococcus faecalis.
Methods: Fifty-one extracted human maxillary central incisors with single straight root canals and completely formed apices were used. The teeth were allocated into three groups at random (N=17), group (1) irrigated with the conventional needle irrigation, group (2) irrigated with the passive ultrasonic irrigation, and group (3) irrigated with the EndoVac negative pressure irrigation. 5.25% NaOCL was used in this study. A suspension of E. faecalis ATCC 29212 grown on brain heart infusion (BHI) broth was prepared to equal the turbidity of a 0.5 McFarland standard. The root canals were inoculated with this solution. The teeth were then incubated at 37°C for 7 days. After the irrigation procedures, the amount of E. faecalis was calculated/sample by colony-forming units (CFU). The dentinal fragment samples were collected using H- files size 40. After incubation at 37°C for 24 h, colony-forming units (CFU) were counted and the actual bacterial count were calculated/sample.
Results: There was a statistically significant difference in the bacterial reduction between the experimental groups (PUI and EndoVac) and the control group (conventional needle irrigation) (p=0.00). There was no statistically significant difference between group (2) PUI and group (3) EndoVac in the remaining bacteria after irrigation method.