Bacterial leakage in roots filled with different medicaments and sealed with Cavit

The aim of this study was to evaluate the time required by four different root canal medications coupled with the temporary filling material Cavit (ESPE, Seefeld, Germany) to prevent penetration of bacteria into the root canal. There were 145 roots prepared in a standardized manner. Four groups with 15 samples each were dressed with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)(2)), a 5% chlorhexidine gel (CHX), a chloromono-campherphenolic compound (ChKM), and Ledermix (LM), respectively, and sealed with Cavit. Four control groups contained identical medications but the roots were left unsealed. The 25 remaining roots served as additional controls. A standard setup for bacterial leakage studies was chosen with Staphylococcus epidermidis as test strain. Cavit application resulted in a significantly better seal compared with the unsealed groups. In the Cavit-sealed groups, all groups differed significantly from one another except for the CHX and the ChKM groups. The Ca(OH)(2) medicated roots provided the longest protection (median of 36 days), followed by the Ledermix-group (27 days) and the CHX (18 days) or ChKM groups (19 days). It may be concluded that Cavit-sealed and medicated root canals do not provide adequate protection against bacterial leakage for more than 1 month.