Efficacy of Chemical and Herbal Endodontic Irrigants in Smear Layer Removal from Root Dentin - A Comparative in-Vitro Sem Study

AIM The study was conducted to compare efficacy of chemical v/s herbal endodontic irrigants on smear layer removal using Scanning electron microscope. METHODOLOGY Extracted single rooted premolars (n=30) were decoronated, cut to uniform length of 15mm and were divided into 3 groups of 10 teeth each. Different irrigants were used for each group.17 % EDTA& 3 %NaOCl for group 1, 10 % Citric acid for group 2 and 0.25 % Curcuma longa (Turmeric) for group 3. Teeth canal were flooded with 1ml irrigant of respective group. After instrumentation, final irrigation was also done with 2ml of respective irrigant for two minutes for smear layer removal followed by irrigation with 2ml of saline and dried. All samples were analyzed using SEM for smear layer removal. Efficacy of smear layer removal was calculated using median (Interquartile range). RESULTS EDTA (17 %)& NaOCl (3 %) were most efficient in smear layer removal at all the levels with median (IQR) i. e. at coronal 1 (0), middle 1 (3) and apical level 3 (1) respectively compared to citric acid and turmeric. KruskalWallis test revealed statistically significant difference in smear layer removal by root canal irrigants at coronal third but no significant difference at middle and apical third. CONCLUSION All three irrigants showed the potential to remove smear layer, however EDTA& NAOCL showed maximum efficacy. Turmeric, being a biocompatible agent, can be considered as a beneficial alternative to the routinely used chemical irrigants.