The Effect of Ca(OH)2 in Apical Periodontitis

Aim of the present study was to determine the intraradicular microbiota of previously root canal-treated teeth with apical periodontitis using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) and to investigate the antibacterial effectiveness of different intracanal medicaments \[Ca(OH)2 and CHX\] that will make classical chemomechanical preparation more effective. This superiority, parallel, randomized clinical trial was conducted in the clinic of the Endodontic Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul. Sixteen patients with posttreatment apical periodontitis (one tooth each) were randomly allocated into two groups according to the intracanal medicament used (n=8, for each): calcium hydroxide (CH) and 2% chlorhexidine gel (CHX) group. Total bacterial loads, as well as the amount of Enterococcus faecalis (E.faecalis) were determined before (S1) and after (S2) chemomechanical preparation and finally, after intracanal medication (S3) by means of ddPCR.