Evaluation of the Antibacterial Efficacy of Silver Nanoparticles as an Irrigant against Enterococcus faecalis In vitro Study

Background: Successful root canal therapy depends on thorough chemo mechanical debridement of pulpal tissue, dentin debris and infective microorganisms. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles, sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine in reducing the bacterial infection of the root canals. Materials and Methods: The root canals of 55 single-rooted teeth were cleaned, shaped, and sterilized. All the teeth samples were inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis and incubated at 37 degrees C for 2 weeks. Then, the teeth were divided into four groups. Group I (n=15): 100 ppm silver nanoparticles, Group II (n=15): 2.5 sodium hypochlorite, Group III (n=15): 2% chlorhexidine, IV (n=10): Normal saline as a control group. Specimens were incubated for 2 weeks. Paper points were used to obtain pre- and post-irrigation samples so that the colony-forming units were counted. Data were analyzed using SPSS and tested by Shapiro-Wilk test, One-Way ANOVA and Games-Howell test where the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: All the tested irrigants showed superior effectiveness compared to the normal saline (p<0.05). Overall, 2.5% sodium hypochlorite presented the most effective action against E. faecalis biofilm, followed by 100 ppm silver nanoparticles, then the 2% chlorhexidine by mean percentage of antibacterial effectiveness of 99.87%, 99.51% and 98.66% respectively. Conclusions: Silver nanoparticles were effective against E. faecalis biofilm similarly to sodium hypochlorite when it was used as an irrigation solution.