The effect of ultrasonically activated irrigation on reduction of Enterococcus faecalis in experimentally infected root canals

Abstract

Aim To investigate the ability of an ultrasonically activated irrigating system to eliminate bacteria from the canal wall and dentinal tubules of extracted teeth.Methodology One hundred and thirty roots of intact human teeth were inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis for 4 weeks. The straight roots were randomly allocated to a baseline group (n = 25) or subjected to routine cleaning and shaping procedures (n = 105). Two sub-groups of prepared canals were then additionally exposed either to ultrasonic irrigation with 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for 1 min (n = 35) or to 1 week of intracanal medication with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] (n = 35). All roots were processed for light microscopy (..