Evaluation of Vinegar as a Disinfectant for Extracted Human Teeth - An in-Vitro Study

In dentistry, extracted human teeth are routinely used to learn technical and preclinical skills. Since human teeth harbour many pathogens these should be disinfected before use to minimize the risk of infections. Some commonly used disinfectants in laboratories are 10% formalin, 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), 5.25% Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl), 70% alcohol and normal saline which have their own disadvantages like carcinogenicity, toxicity, cost effectiveness etc. Many studies have been conducted using these solutions but there is no evidence to suggest a suitable alternative for disinfecting extracted teeth. Vinegar is a sour liquid comprised mainly of acetic acid. It is cheap and commercially available shown to be effective in the prevention and control of microbial contamination.

The present study was conducted for evaluation of vinegar as a disinfectant for extracted teeth.

In this study a total of 40 (n=40) extracted non carious teeth were taken which were disinfected with various physical methods such as sterilization, autoclaving and chemical methods by using Vinegar, 70% Alcohol, 10% Formalin, 3% Hydrogen peroxide and 5.25% NaOCL. Later, teeth from each group were placed individually in separate test tubes containing 10ml of brain heart infusion broth at 37°C for 48 hrs to observe the evidence of growth of microorganisms.

Results were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Vinegar, 10% Formalin and 3% Hydrogen peroxide were effective. The results were statistically significant with Kruskal-Wallis test value 28.053 and p-value was <0.001.

Vinegar can be used as an effective disinfectant for extracted human teeth.