Affiliations 

  • 1 Discipline of Endodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China. prasanna@hku.hk
  • 2 Department of Endodontics, Benemerita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla 72000, Mexico. moniendo@gmail.com
  • 3 Department of Postgraduate Endodontics, University of Tlaxcala, Private practice, Puebla 72420, Mexico. jveraro@yahoo.com.mx
  • 4 Faculty of Dentistry, International Medical University, 126, Jln Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Bukit Jalil, Malaysia. udaood@hotmail.com
  • 5 Medical Microbiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh 202001, India. asad.k@rediffmail.com
  • 6 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China. ayan8@hku.hk
  • 7 Discipline of Endodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China. spcheung@hku.hk
Int J Mol Sci, 2017 Aug 11;18(8).
PMID: 28800075 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18081748

Abstract

Microbiota are found in highly organized and complex entities, known as biofilms, the characteristics of which are fundamentally different from microbes in planktonic suspensions. Root canal infections are biofilm mediated. The complexity and variability of the root canal system, together with the multi-species nature of biofilms, make disinfection of this system extremely challenging. Microbial persistence appears to be the most important factor for failure of root canal treatment and this could further have an impact on pain and quality of life. Biofilm removal is accomplished by a chemo-mechanical process, using specific instruments and disinfecting chemicals in the form of irrigants and/or intracanal medicaments. Endodontic research has focused on the characterization of root canal biofilms and the clinical methods to disrupt the biofilms in addition to achieving microbial killing. In this narrative review, we discuss the role of microbial biofilms in endodontics and review the literature on the role of root canal disinfectants and disinfectant-activating methods on biofilm removal.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.