Evaluation of Antimicrobial Effect of Three Resin Based Sealers (An In Vitro Study)

Abstract

Microbes are considered as the primary etiological agents in endodontic diseases. The ways of reducing these agents are root canal debridement, antimicrobial irrigants, and antibacterial filling materials. But the complexity of the pulp canal system presents a problem for chemomechanical preparation. One of the factors determining the success of endodontic treatment is the sealing material with a potent bactericidal effect. This study was performed to assess the antimicrobial activity of three resin based endodontic sealers – in vitro. The antimicrobial activity of the three root canal sealers (AH Plus, RealSeal SE, and MetaSEAL) was evaluated against Enterococcus Faecalis at various time intervals using the agar diffusion test and the direct contact test. In the agar diffusion test the freshly mixed sealers were placed in prepared wells of agar plates inoculated with the tested microorganisms. The plates were incubated for 1 day , 3 days and 7 days. The mean zones of inhibition were measured. The direct contact test (DCT) was designed to overcome the limitations the ADT which is relatively insensitive, as the results are dependent on the diffusion and physical properties of the tested materials . All statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 16 statistical software version. The analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post-hoc test, to reveal the statistical significance. The results showed a Statistically significant bacterial growth inhibition which were observed in descending order of antimicrobial activity: metaseal, AH plus, and realseal SE. Concluding that the Metaseal produced the largest inhibitory effect followed in decreasing order by AH Plus then RealSeal SE.