The Antimicrobial Activity of an Atmospheric-Pressure Room-Temperature Plasma in a Simulated Root-Canal Model Infected With Enterococcus Faecalis

• Published in: IEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 38; no. 12; pp. 3370 - 3374
• Main Authors: Zhou, Xincai, Xiong, Zilan, Cao, Yingguang, Lu, Xinpei, Liu, Dexi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.12.2010; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Anti-bacterial; Antimicrobial activity; Atmospheric pressure; Enterococcus faecalis; Exact sciences and technology; Gases; Gram-positive bacteria; Irrigation; Microorganisms; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; plasma; Plasma physics; Plasmas; root canal; Simulation; Teeth; Temperature; Enterococcus faecalis; Plasma jets; Antimicrobial activity; Plasma sterilization; Atmospheric pressure; Sodium; plasma; root canal
• ISSN: 0093-3813; 1939-9375
• DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2010.2078522

The antimicrobial activity of an atmospheric-pressure room-temperature plasma jet on simulated root canals infected with Enterococcus faecalis is studied. The samples are divided randomly into 12 experimental groups and one control group. All experimental groups exhibited a significant reduction in viable bacteria compared with the control group ( P <; 0.01 ). The largest reductions were obtained in Group 9 (with plasma jet containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite sterilization for 12 min after irrigating the root canals with 1-ml sterile physiologic saline) and Group 12 (with plasma-jet sterilization for 12 min after irrigating the root canals with 1-ml sterile physiologic saline), with 6.21 and 5.62 log reductions, respectively. It is concluded that plasma jet containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite as well as plasma jet only can effectively sterilize the simulated root canals.