title: In vitroevaluation of the antibacterial activity of five sealers used in root canal therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Antibacterial activity is one of the important characteristics of an ideal root canal sealer. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of five different sealers againstEnterococcus faecalisusing two different methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  The mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) Fillapex, Tg-sealer, Endomethasone, AH-26, and RoekoSeal sealers were placed into the brain heart infusion (BHI) culture medium containingE. faecalis(PTCC1393). The diameter of the bacterial zone of inhibition was measured. In the direct contact test, a suspension containing grinded set sealers andE. faecalisbacteria was cultured in BHI after 6, 15, and 60 min. The number of colonies in milliliter was calculated. Data were subjected to one-way ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparisons test (P< 0.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the agar diffusion test, Endomethasone had the highest antibacterial activity againstE. faecaliscompared to other sealers (P< 0.001). In the direct test, the antibacterial effect of MTA Fillapex was significantly higher than that of all other sealers (P< 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The technique and components of the tested sealers affect the antibacterial activity results. This study showed that all of sealers had antimicrobial effect.
authors.affiliation: Dental Materials Research Center and Department of Endodontics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasheminia
authors.affiliation: Dental Materials Research Center and Department of Endodontics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Razavian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mosleh
authors.affiliation: Dentist, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shakerian
keywords: Anti-Bacterial agents; Enterococcus faecalis; root canal filling materials; root canal therapy