OR02 - Antibacterial Efficacy of Benefect Botanical Disinfectant Compared to Sodium Hypochlorite and Chlorohexidine Against Multiple Endodontic Pathogens: An Ex Vivo Study

Introduction:

Disinfection of the root canal space is critical for healing. Natural antibacterial agents, such as essential oils, can potentially be used for endodontic disinfection with less toxicity than irrigant solutions such as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorhexidine (CHX). Benefect™ is a formulation of essential oils with broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare antibacterial efficacy of Benefect^TM to NaOCl 6% and CHX 2% irrigant solutions against multiple endodontic pathogens.

Methodology:

The study utilized approximately 100 extracted human single canal permanent teeth. Samples were decoronated, instrumented, and autoclaved. Teeth were infected with (Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, Actinomyces naeslundii, or Fusobacterium nucleatum) for 24 hours. The teeth were divided into 4 groups according to the irrigant solution used and contact with each irrigant was maintained for 12 minutes. The antibacterial efficacy of each treatment was calculated relative to viable bacteria recovered after treatment with saline. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student's T-test, n=4.

Results:

All S. mutans samples treated with NaOCl, CHX, and Benefect^TM showed a complete absence of bacterial colonies when compared to saline ( >99.9% killing). For E. faecalis, samples treated with NaOCl and CHX showed antibacterial killing activity >99.99% killing, compared to 99% killing with Benefect^TM. The difference in killing between these three antimicrobial treatments was not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

Benefect^TM botanical disinfectant has comparable antibacterial efficacy to NaOCl and CHX against S. mutans and E. faecalis. Experiments to assess the activity of Benefect^TM on A. naeslundii and F. nucleatum are underway.