Antimicrobial efficacy of 0.5% peracetic acid and EDTA with passive ultrasonic or manual agitation in an Enterococcus faecalis biofilm model.

We compared the antimicrobial efficacy of EDTA and 0.5% peracetic acid (PAA), with manual agitation (MA) or passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) in an Enterococcus faecalis biofilm model. Fifty-five single-rooted human premolar teeth were chemo-mechanically prepared and inoculated with E. faecalis for biofilm formation. These were divided into five groups (n = 11): saline solution, PAA+MA, PAA+PUI, EDTA+MA and EDTA+PUI. Root canal sampling and scanning electron microscopy of the canal lumen and dentinal tubule areas at the different root thirds were performed. The images were ranked based on contamination level. Only the PAA groups presented with no bacterial growth, with the remaining groups not presenting significant differences among them. PAA+PUI presented with the highest median position rankings in every third and location, whereas EDTA+MA performed similarly to the saline control. No differences were found when comparing MA and PUI within the same solution, however, PUI was associated with lower contamination levels mean rankings.