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Published on: December 10, 2013
Antimicrobial Properties of Newer Calcium Silicate-Based Pulp-Capping Agents Against Enterococcus Faecalis and
Niranjana M1, Sunil Jose1, George Thomas1
1Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital, Mahe, IND.
Aim:
This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of calcium silicate-based pulp-capping agents against Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus mutans using an agar diffusion test.
Methods And Materials:
The agar diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial properties of pulp-capping agents. The materials used included Bio-C® Temp (Angelus, Brazil), Dia-Root™ Bio mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) (Diadent Europe B.V., Almere, Netherlands), Biodentine™ (Septodont, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France), and TheraCal LC (Bisco Inc., Schaumburg, IL). Eighteen petri dishes, nine for S. mutans and nine for E. faecalis, were divided into four parts each (one for each agent), for a total sample size of 72. The bacterial suspensions were transferred to the petri dishes using a sterile swab. Four wells with a diameter of 4 mm were then punched in each petri dish. The wells were filled with the pulp-capping agents, which had been mixed according to the manufacturer's instructions, and the petri dishes were incubated. The zone of inhibition was measured at 24 and 48 hours to assess the pulp-capping agents' antimicrobial efficacy against E. faecalis and S. mutans. The readings were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.
Results:
At 24 hours, the highest zone of inhibition was found in the Biodentine™ group (15.83 ± 0.79 mm), followed by Dia-Root™ Bio MTA (14.5 ± 0.88 mm), TheraCal LC® (12.56 ± 0.53 mm), and the shortest in the Bio-C Temp (9.61 ± 0.70 mm) against S. mutans. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test showed a high statistical significance. After 48 hours, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean zone of inhibition. At 24 hours, the highest zone of inhibition was found in the Biodentine™ group (20.56 ± 0.73 mm), followed by Dia-Root™ Bio MTA (20.06 ± 1.33 mm), TheraCal LC® (18.22 ± 0.97 mm), and the shortest in the Bio-C Temp (14.11 ± 0.78 mm) against E. faecalis. The ANOVA test indicated no statistically significant difference between the Biodentine™ and the Dia-Root™ Bio MTA groups. After 48 hours, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean zone of inhibition.
Conclusions:
Biodentine™ has higher antibacterial efficacy against S. mutans, while Biodentine™ and Dia-Root™ Bio MTA have comparably high antibacterial activity against S. mutans and E. faecalis at 24 and 48 hours.
