Effect of a Ca(OH)2 solution and a chlorhexidine based detergent on the microbial activity of human carious teeth

Occlusar carious lesions from human molars, preserved in continuous humidity after extraction, were removed using conventional clinical techniques. Bacteriological samples were taken after rinsing the cavity with water only, after experimentally infecting the cavity and after treating uninfected cavities either with a saturated Ca(OH)2 solution or with a chlorhexidine based detergent. The samples were cultivated on blood agar plates aerobically and anaerobically. Cavities rinsed with water only showed very sparce bacterial growth. After experimental infection the growth was significant, but decreased radically after treatment with the test materials. In order to describe the effect of the two test materials on the microbial enzyme activity in infected dentin, cryostat sections of 10 micrometer were prepared from undermineralized carious dentin fragments excavated from freshly extracted human teeth. Conventional histochemical techniques were applied to demonstrate the aminopeptidase activity in the sections using N-L-leucyl-2-naphthylamide as a substrate. The aminopeptidase activity of carious dentin was inhibited totally with the Ca(OH)2 solution, whereas the chlorhexidine based detergent had no effect on the enzyme activity.