Comparative Evaluation of the Antibacterial Effect of Triple Antibiotic Paste Versus Propolis as Intracanal Medicament

Purpose: This study aimed to compare between Propolis and Triple Antibiotic Paste as root canal medicaments in eradication of Enterococcus faecalis. Material and Methods: for this study, 60 extracted human teeth were used. After their decapitation, they were initially instrumented to reach 20 K-file, later they were separated into 2 sets according to the medicament used; Group A1: Triple antibiotic paste Group A2: Propolis paste (30 specimens in each group). After sterilization of all samples inoculation was performed with Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC29212) over a period of 21 days. Preparation of all samples was done using Step- back technique to reach #50 file, irrigation using sodium hypochlorite solution of 2.6% concentration and EDTA, then intracanal medicaments were applied. First sample (S1) was collected after inoculation of bacteria into root canals. Second sample (S2) was collected after undergoing instrumentation and irrigation. Third sample (S3) was taken following application of medicament. Fourth sample (S4) was taken following application of sterile cotton pellet and temporary restoration for seven days. BHI agar was used for culturing of samples then went under incubation to count CFU’s. Results: There was a significant difference between different samples where (p ≤ 0.05) and there was a continuous decrease of (mean ±SD) value starting from (S1) till (S4). Pairwise comparisons for both medicaments showed all samples to be significantly different from each other. Conclusion: Antimicrobial activity of Propolis against E. faecalis was found to be greater than that of TAP and can be used as a short-term intracanal medicament.