Periapical bacterial plaque in teeth refractory to endodontic treatment

It has recently been found that bacteria are able to survive and maintain an infectious disease process in periapical lesions of nonvital teeth. The purpose of this study was to examine the surfaces of root tips removed during surgical-endodontic treatment for the presence of microorganisms. A full thickness flap was reflected under strict surgical asepsis and the periapical lesions were enucleated and removed. About 2-3 mm of the root was cut off, rinsed in sterile saline and placed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin. Upon fixation, the root tips were dehydrated, air-dried and given an electrically conducting coat of gold in a vacuum evaporator. The root tips were then studied in a Jeol, JSM-U3 scanning electron microscope, usually operated at 20 kV. The root surfaces were covered with soft tissue, except at the apex of the roots, where a continuous, smooth and structureless coating was seen, apparently adjacent to the apical foramen. At higher magnification a variety of bacterial forms were recognized in the smooth coating. A bacterial plaque was observed in irregularities of the surfaces between fiber bundles and cells and in crypts and holes. The bacteria were held together by an extracellular material and the plaque was dominated by cocci and rods. Fibrillar forms were recognized as well, often with cocci attached to their surfaces.