Bpfa. Gomes et al., VARIATIONS IN THE SUSCEPTIBILITIES OF COMPONENTS OF THE ENDODONTIC MICROFLORA TO BIOMECHANICAL PROCEDURES, International endodontic journal, 29(4), 1996, pp. 235-241
The role of the endodontic micoflora in pulpal disease and in endodont
ic treatment failures is well established, Thus the need for effective
microbial control is one of the important justifications for biomecha
nical procedures, However the efficacy of this stage of treatment is d
ependent upon the vulnerability of the involved species, which may not
be uniform. The aim of this study was to investigate variations in th
e susceptibilities of members of the root canal microflora to routine
biomechanical procedures, Forty-two root canals were investigated micr
obiologically. Samples were collected before and after instrumentation
and the bacterial findings were compared, In 15 cases of 'primary' ro
ot canal therapy, despite changes in the population size, no significa
nt change in the species composition of the microflora was observed, H
owever in 27 cases 'secondary' treatment, a decrease in the number of
isolations of Peptostreptococcus spp, was found (P = 0.008). When all
42 cases were considered together, significant decreases were found be
tween first and second samples for anaerobes (P = 0.0117) and for Gram
positive species (P = 0.008), especially Peptostreptococcus spp, (P =
0.02). It was therefore concluded that certain species are more resist
ant to the biomechanical procedures than others.