Intratubular enterococcus faecalis viability assessment following root canal instrumentation with rotary and reciprocating systems via fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

Abstract Background. The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the effectiveness of WaveOne and ProTaper Gold system in removing the Enterococcus faecalis biofilm. Methods. 38 mandibular premolars were selected. The canals were assigned to standard control groups (canals serially enlarged with ProTaper Gold S1-S2-F1-F2, n=15) and experimental (canals enlarged with Primary WaveOne file, n=15). Canals were sampled after the instrumentation procedures, and the colony forming units (CFU) count was evaluated. Samples were also visualized under a fluorescent microscope to count viable bacteria. Data were statistically analyzed using Independent Sample T-test and Paired Sample T-test. Results. Results showed that in comparison with the ProTaper group, WaveOne group displayed the least viable bacteria (P=0.004), Conclusions. Therefore, we concluded that the WaveOne reciprocating file is more successful in reducing intratubular viable bacteria compared with the ProTaper Gold rotary system.

Keywords: antimicrobial test, bacterial viability, instrumentation, root canal preparation, Enterococcus faecalis, ProTaper Gold system, WaveOne system