ANTIFUNGAL EFFECT OF ZINC OXIDE BASED PASTES CONTAINING VARIOUS ESSENTIAL OILS AGAINST CANDIDA ALBICANS AND COMPARISON OF ITS EFFECT WITH ZINC OXIDE EUGENOL

Background : Endodontic treatment of primary teeth is required to eliminate microorganisms from the infected root canals having complex root canal anatomy. Objectives: To assess the antifungal effect of zinc oxide paste with tea tree oil, thyme oil, peppermint oil on candida albicans and to compare it with zinc oxide eugenol paste. Materials and methods: Zinc oxide pastes containing essential o ils used in the present study were zinc oxide tea tree oil paste (ZOT); zinc oxide thyme oil paste (ZOTh); zinc oxide peppermint oil paste (ZOP) which were compared with zinc oxide eugenol paste (ZO). Antifungal effect in the form of zones of inhibition wa s evaluated by agar diffusion method. Sabauraud's dextrose agar medium was used for evaluation of antifungal effect of candida albicans. Statistical analysis was done using one way ANOVA and Tukey's post - hoc test with significance at the level of 5%. Resul ts: Antifungal effect in the form of zones of inhibition against candida albicans found in decreasing order was ZOTh paste (50.00±0.00)> ZOP paste (45.66±0.51)> ZOT paste (44.33±0.51)> ZOE paste (16.83±0.91) respectively with difference found to be statist ically significant (0.0001, S,p<0. 05). Conclusion: ZOTh paste can be successfully used for root canal filling of deciduous teeth against candida albicans