Estimating The Antimicrobial Efficacy Of Calcium Hydroxide With Different Carrier Vehicles

Introduction: Since its introduction in 1920 (Hermann 1920), calcium hydroxide has been widely used in endodontics. It is a strong alkaline substance, which has a pH of approximately 12.5. In an aqueous solution, calcium hydroxide dissociates into calcium and hydroxyl ions. Bacterial micro flora of primary endodontic infections differs vastly from secondary or persistent peri radicular lesions. The most frequent survivors present in a very high proportion of root canal failure cases are Enterococcus faecalis with the prevalence of 24%–77% and Candida albicanswith the prevalence of 6%–18%.. Materials & Methods: The study was done by assessing zone of inhibition forEnterococcusfaecalis and Candida albicanswith 4 different carriers for calcium hydroxide.The statistical package SPSS (Statistical package for social science) and Microsoft Excel was used for statistical analysis. Results: The obtained results state that calcium hydroxide mixed with saline showed an increased antimicrobial effect on facultative anaerobes such aE. faecalis and C. albicans, with calcium hydroxide mixed with distilled water as standard. Conclusion: The obtained results state that Saline was promoting the antibiotic effect whereas Local anaesthesia and MTA were inhibiting the antibiotic activity of calcium hydroxide