Antibacterial Activity of Three Endodontic Sealers with Various Bases

Abstract: Objectives: The antibacterial activity of three endodontic sealers, a Ca(OH)2 based sealer Apexit(Ivoclar vivadent),a ZOE based sealer Dorifill(Dorident),and a resin based sealer AH26(DENTSPLY) was assessed on the growth of an anaerobic bacteria (peprostreptococcus spp.) using the Agar diffusion test (ADT). Methods: Thirty brain heart diffusion agar plates were incubated with peptostreptococcus anaerobics. Each plate was divided into two separate areas. In one area, 0.1 ml droplet of a given fresh sealer and in the other area the dry form of the same sealer were placed, such that each plate had two areas with the same sealer in two forms of fresh and dry (set form).There were ten plates for each of the three sealers, and there were two plates containing the bacteria without any sealer and three with sealers and without any bacteria as the control groups. The plates were placed into anaerobic jars and incubated at 37˚C. After 24 hours and 7 days, zones of inhibition of bacterial growth were observed and measured. Results: Analyzing the data was done by spssver 10 program, and the Kolmogrove-smirnov test and t-test have been used. There were no statistically significant differences between the activity of AH26 and dorifill in the fresh form (P>0.05). However, there were significant differences between the two sealers in set form (P<0.05). Dorifill was more antibacterial in the set form than AH26.All sealers were more active when fresh than aged. Apexit(fresh form) had little antibacterial activity compared with the others, and Apexit(set form) was not antibacterial. Conclusion: AH26 and Dorifill seem to be more antibacterial than Apexit. The Ca(OH)2 based sealer (Apexit) has little antibacterial activity.