Comparative Evaluation Of Antibacterial And Layer Removal Efficacy Of Two Different Herbal Irrigants – An In Vitro Study

INTRODUCTION: Irrigation during root canal therapy is especially needed for teeth with complex internal anatomy. Biomechanical preparation of root canal produces "smear layer" which gets embedded with debris and microorganisms. The major side effects of these widely used chemical irrigants such as Sodium hypochlorite for antibacterial efficacy and EDTA for smear layer removal has led to the search of a more biocompatible irrigant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Azadirachta indica(neem) and Ocimum sanctum(tulsi) extract were used in this study as herbal irrigants to evaluate the above mentioned properties by the q PCR method and SEM analysis. RESULTS: In antimicrobial efficacy, the Mean value of NaOcl showed higher antimicrobial efficacy followed by Neem leaf extract and the lower antimicrobial efficacy was recorded with Tulsi extract. Similarly, the mean smear layer removal by different irrigants at different root levels, EDTA showed the maximum smear layer removal, followed by Neem leaf extract and Tulsi extract showed the least smear layer removal. Hence Tulsi has poor smear layer removal efficacy and comparable antimicrobial efficacy when compared with Neem extract STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The collected data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance to compare the mean of the groups. The post- hoc test (Tukey) was performed to find the interrelationship between different groups for significant difference (P < 0.05; confidence interval 95%). CONCLUSION: From this study, these two herbal irrigants are proved to be safe and effective. It can be concluded that neem leaf extract has a significant antimicrobial efficacy against E. faecalis and significant smear layer removal efficacy compared to 17% EDTA.