The prevention of precipitate formation during root canal treatment.

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The ability of different solutions to prevent the formation of precipitate when used as intermediate irrigant between sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine.

  • IRAS ID

    160499

  • Contact name

    Michael Horrocks

  • Contact email

    mike@simplyendo.com

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Chester

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 3 months, 2 days

  • Research summary

    During root canal treatment the dental practitioner is aiming to mechanically shape and disinfect the root canals. The disinfection is mainly achieved by the use of solutions. Two of the most popular root canal disinfectants in contemporary root treatment is sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorhexidine (CHX).
    The two solutions have different characteristics and the potential use of both during the treatment can result in superior disinfection and cleansing of the canals. However, if the two solutions are directly mixed they produce a brown-yellow precipitate which can cause blockage of the canals and difficulties in the following interventions and it has also been proved to be toxic for the vital tissues. Therefore, the direct contact between the two solutions must be avoided.
    The purpose of this study is to test if the NaOCl can be completely removed from the root canal before we use the CHX. To achieve that, different solutions will be used in order to flush out the NaOCl before we introduce the CHX. The study aims to determine a safe irrigation protocol during root canal treatment, which will allow the dental clinical to combine the solutions of NaOCl and CHX
    without the formation of the precipitate.
    For the purpose of the study the researcher will need to collect extracted human teeth which will be used to simulate the clinical procedure of the root canal treatment using different disinfectant solutions. The results will be recorded, studied and statistically analyzed in order to choose the best combination of solutions.
    The teeth will be collected from patients who need to have a tooth removed that is eligible for the experiment. The participants will not have any further involvement in the research.
    The study will be conducted in the dental practice and the office of the researcher.

  • REC name

    East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    14/EM/1301

  • Date of REC Opinion

    10 Dec 2014

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion