Evaluation of the antimicrobial effect of super-oxidized water (sterilo®) and sodium hypochlorite against enterococcus faecalis in a bovine root canal model

Ideally root canal irrigants should have,amongst other properties,antimicrobial action associated with a lack of toxicity against periapical tissues. sodium hypochlorite (naocl) is a widely used root canal irrigant,however it has been shown to have a cytotoxic effect on vital tissue and therefore it is prudent to investigate alternative irrigants. sterilox's aquatine alpha electrolyte® belongs to the group of the super-oxidized waters; it consists of a mixture of oxidizing substances,and has been suggested to be used as root canal irrigant. super-oxidized waters have been shown to provide efficient cleaning of root canal walls,and have been proposed to be used for the disinfection of medical equipment. objective: to compare the antimicrobial action against enterococcus faecalis of naocl,optident sterilox electrolyte solution® and sterilox's aquatine alpha electrolyte® when used as irrigating solutions in a bovine root canal model. methodology: root sections were prepared and inoculated with e. faecalis jh2-2. after 10 days of incubation the root canals were irrigated using one of three solutions (naocl,optident sterilox electrolyte solution® and sterilox's aquatine alpha electrolyte®) and subsequently sampled by grinding dentin using drills. the debris was placed in bhi broth and dilutions were plated onto fresh agar plates to quantify growth. results: sodium hypochlorite was the only irrigant to eliminate all bacteria. when the dilutions were made,although naocl was still statistically superior,sterilox's aquatine alpha electrolyte® solution was superior to optident sterilox electrolyte solution®. conclusions: under the conditions of this study sterilox's aquatine alpha electrolyte® appeared to have significantly more antimicrobial action compared to the optident sterilox electrolyte solution® alone,however naocl was the only solution able to consistently eradicate e. faecalis in the model.