Abstract
Conventional disinfectants and medicaments have not been able to achieve and maintain sterilization of root canals. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of 3.8% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) in comparison with 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) against
biofilm.
Extracted human teeth were used to make 70 dentin discs that were then inoculated with
to generate a 3-week-old biofilm model. The discs were subjected to treatment with 3.8% SDF, 2% CHX, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), or saline for 10 min. After exposure, the dentin discs were examined with a confocal laser scanning microscope to verify the percentage of live versus dead cells within the biofilm. Univariate one-way analysis of variance and Tukey-honestly significant difference post hoc analysis (
< .05) were performed to detect significant differences.
The NaOCl group showed the greatest percentage of dead cells (62.26%) among all groups (
< .05). The SDF group showed a significantly higher percentage of dead cells (57.39%) than the 2% CHX and saline groups (
< .05). SDF possessed higher antimicrobial activity than 2% CHX against
biofilms.