Comparative Evaluation of Common Intracanal Medicaments, Teucrium Polium L and Teucrium Polium L with Calcium Hydroxide: An In Vitro Study

Use of different intracanal medicaments and irrigating solutions is an essential step in root canal treatment to decrease microbial count. Some medicinal plants have antimicrobial properties. This study sought to assess and compare the antimicrobial effects of aqueous extract of Teucrium polium (TP) with and without calcium hydroxide (CH) on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus in comparison with Chlorhexidine (CHX).
In this in vitro experimental study, the antimicrobial efficacy of TP alone and in combination with CH was evaluated by disc diffusion and whole plate diffusion methods. The diameter of inhibition zones was measured by a ruler. Data was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and non-parametric Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests (SPSS version: 16).
The TP extract alone had no antibacterial effects after 24 hours of incubation and the mean diameter of the growth inhibition zones was zero. Significant differences were observed in calcium hydroxide plus CHX group in comparison with the other groups in four bacteria (P Calcium hydroxide plus CHX had the highest antibacterial effects compared with other medicaments and the TP extract had no antibacterial effects.