Enterococcus faecalis has been shown to be highly resistant once established in the root canal system and may play an important role in endodontic failures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of four root canal sealers on E. faecalis. Seventeen blood-agar plates were inoculated with E. faecalis using the Lawn technique. Five discs were placed on each plate, four with sealers--Sealapex, Roth 811, Kerr EWT, and AH-Plus--and an ampicillin disc as the control. The plates were incubated at 37 degrees C. The zones of inhibition were measured at 24 and 48 h. Analysis using a one-way ANOVA and Tukey test showed a statistically significance difference (p < 0.05) between all four groups of sealers. Roth 811 showed the largest zone of inhibition (1.1 mm), followed by Sealapex (0.8 mm) and Kerr EWT (0.5 mm), whereas AH-Plus had no antimicrobial activity. There was no difference in the zones of inhibition between the 24- and 48-h time periods.

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It has been found that Enterococcus faecalis is most commonly isolated in failed endodontic treatment. Irrigation with chlorhexidine gluconate has been suggested based on its antimicrobial effect and substantivity. Calcium hydroxide also is an effective antimicrobial agent because of its high alkalinity. The purpose of this study was to test the individual and combined effect of calcium hydroxide and chlorhexidine against E. faecalis. The agar-diffusion test was performed on Mueller-Hinton plates. Paper disks were impregnated with: (a) CaOH powder with sterile water; (b) Pulpdent; (c) 0.12% Peridex; (d) CaOH powder with Peridex; and (e) Pulpdent with Peridex. Ampicillin served as a control. The plates were incubated at 37 degrees C for 72 h. Peridex showed significantly larger zones of inhibition compared with CaOH. No statistically significant difference was found between Peridex and the combination of CaOH and Peridex.