Effect of different irrigating solutions and photo-activated therapy for in vivo root canal treatment

This study aimed to evaluate histologically the effect of irrigation with 400 ppm Sterilox, 2% and 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), with and without photo-activated therapy (PAD), in a single-visit root canal treatment of dog's teeth with apical periodontitis (AP). Ten dogs were randomly divided into two groups (n=5): with and without PAD, and the root canals into four subgroups, according to the irrigating solution: SX (400 ppm Sterilox), SH2 (2% NaOCl), SH5 (5% NaOCl) and SS (saline solution) as positive control. A total of 134 root canals were opened and left exposed to the oral environment for 14 days and then sealed for 60 days for AP induction. Then, root canals were treated according to each proposed disinfecting protocol and filled in the same session. After 120 days, the dogs were euthanized and the periapical inflammatory events were evaluated under light microscopy. Qualitative data were submitted to Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests (α=0.05). PAD did not produce significant differences in the scores for apical inflammation when used after chemo-mechanical preparation (p>0.05). The irrigating solutions SX, SH2 and SH5 without PAD were statistically different from SS (p<0.05) that presented the greatest scores for apical inflammation. PAD did not show any additional effect for the treatment of root canals with pulp necrosis and AP in a single visit and 400 ppm Sterilox may be considered an alternative to NaOCl in root canal treatment.