Antibacterial Efficacy of Bio-C Temp Versus Calcium Hydroxide Against Enterococcus faecalis in Root Canals and Dentine Debris: An In Vitro Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the antibacterial effectiveness of a calcium silicate-based intracanal medicament against Enterococcus faecalis in root canals and dentinal tubules, compared with calcium hydroxide. METHODS: Thirty-two extracted human mandibular premolars were prepared with WaveOne Gold reciprocating files (Dentsply, Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) up to Primary size (25.07) and sterilised at 121°C for 20 minutes. Root canals were inoculated with E. faecalis ATCC 29212 (American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA, USA) for 21 days. Two infected specimens were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to confirm biofilm formation. The remaining teeth were divided into 3 groups based on the intracanal medicament applied for 7 days: distilled water (DW), Bio-C Temp (BT) and UltraCal XS (UC). After incubation, bacterial samples from the root canals and dentine debris were collected, and viable bacteria were quantified as colony-forming units (CFUs). Data normality was assessed using the Skewness-Kurtosis test. Statistical analysis included parametric (1-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc) or nonparametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn's post hoc and Wilcoxon signed-rank), with significance set at P ≤ .05. RESULTS: Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed extensive E. faecalis biofilm formation with penetration into dentinal tubules. Viable bacteria were recovered from all DW samples, whereas positive bacterial growth was detected in only a limited number of specimens in the UC and BT groups. Both UC and BT resulted in significantly lower CFU counts in the root canals and dentine debris samples compared with DW (P < .05). No statistically significant difference was observed between UC and BT. CONCLUSION: The calcium silicate-based medicament BT exhibited effective antibacterial activity against E. faecalis in both the root canal system and dentine debris samples, suggesting activity within dentinal tubules, with efficacy comparable to that of the calcium hydroxide medicament UC.