Evaluating the antimicrobial effectiveness of endodontic sealers against oral pathogens associated with failed root canal treatments.

Abstract

Overview: Residual pathogens lead to treatment failure. Microbes like Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans, and Actinomyces israelii are often isolated after failed root canal therapy. Therefore, the antimicrobial efficacy of sealers is critical for treatment outcomes.

Aim: To evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of endodontic sealers against E. faecalis and C. albicans.

Methodology: The agar diffusion test was used to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of four sealers: MTA Fillapex, Bio-C-Sealer, Sealapex, and Seal-Pex. Each microorganism's bacterial suspension was added to agar plates separately. The sterile discs were then placed on the plates; later, a freshly mixed sealer was coated on the sterile discs. After 24 h of incubation, inhibition zones were measured.

Results: The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to analyze the data, and the Mann-Whitney U-test was used for post hoc pairwise comparison. The results demonstrated that Seal-Pex has potent antibacterial activity against E. faecalis (P < 0.05). Against C. albicans, both MTA Fillapex and Seal-Pex were effective, with MTA Fillapex showing a statistically significant difference compared to Bio-C Sealer and Sealapex.

Conclusion: Seal-Pex, an epoxy resin-based sealer, exhibited a significant antimicrobial efficacy against E. faecalis. Conversely, MTA Fillapex demonstrated notable antifungal activity against C. albicans, surpassing other tested sealers. These findings highlight the differential antimicrobial and antifungal properties of the sealers.