Evaluation of the antibacterial efficacy of different bioactive lining and pulp capping agents

AimTo evaluate the antibacterial potential of dental cements on the growth of the colonies of Streptococcus mutans.Materials & methodsTen Discs were prepared from three types of bioactive materials; light cure calcium hydroxide, light cure resin modified glass ionomer, and Biodentine. Bacterial Strain S. mutans was suspended in Tryptone Soy Broth (TS) medium and incubated for 18 h. Agar diffusion test was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity by measuring the gauge of inhibition zone around the discs. Statistical analysis was performed by using one-way Anova test and differences were considered significant at the 95% confidence level (P < 0.05).ResultsA significant difference of antibacterial characteristics between groups at p ≤ 0.001. Biodentin had the largest inhibition zone (15.14 ± 0.34), followed by Resin modified glass ionomer (11.22 ± 0.13). Light cured Calcium hydroxide showed the smallest inhibition zone (9.15 ± 0.3).ConclusionWhile Biodentin showed the strongest antibacterial properties, the VLC bioactive glass ionomer and calcium hydroxide cements are also effective as standard pulp-capping products in inhibiting the growth of S. mutans organism commonly found at the base of a cavity preparation.