LAUSR

Enterococcus faecalis is a resistant microorganism and plays an important role in root canal treatment failure. One of the most critical steps in root canal treatment is chemical cleaning of the root canal with endodontic irrigation solutions. The most commonly used solution is Sodium hypochlorite which in spite of its broad antimicrobial activity, has many disadvantages. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial effect of eucalyptus and ginger on dentinal tubules Enterococcus faecalis in the presence of smear layer. In this study dentin cylinders from 80 single rooted human teeth were prepared and contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis with smear layer created in each dentin disk. Experimental groups were as follows: Group 1: Sodium hypochlorite 5.25%, Group 2: ginger extract, Group 3: eucalyptus extract, Group 4: Normal saline (positive control), Group 5: sterile cylinders. Then dentin chips were collected from three different depths of dentin including 0.1,0.2 and 0.3 millimeters. Optical density comparison of different experimental groups showed that there is a signifi cant difference between groups in 0.1 and 0.2 millimeters depth (p<0.01), however no signifi cant difference in 0.3 millimeters depth was obtained. Antimicrobial effi cacy of eucalyptus and Sodium hypochlorite in the presence of smear layer showed no signifi cant differences, while this effect was weaker with ginger compared to Sodium hypochlorite.