Antimicrobial Efficacy of Calcium Hydroxide and Triple Antibiotic Paste Combination on E. faecalis Biofilm- an In vitro Study

Abstract

Calcium hydroxide (CH) is an intracanal medicament that has been widely used in endodontics, which can eliminate bacteria because of its high alkalinity. However, E. faecalis is resistant to CH. Triple antibiotic paste (TAP) is a mixture of ciprofloxacin, minocycline, and metronidazole, and is highly effective against E. faecalis. Hence the main aim of this study was to find the antimicrobial efficacy of CH and TAP combination against E. faecalis. The study was done by agar diffusion method, three wells were punched in Tryptone soya agar and filled with CH, TAP, and the combination of both. The zone of inhibition values was recorded and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS. One way ANOVA and Post Hoc tests were used to compare the means. The combination of CH with TAP was found to be significantly better than CH and TAP used alone (p-value <0.05).Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that TAP is more efficient when compared with CH,The combination of CH and TAP proved to be more effective when compared to the two when used alone.