Antimicrobial Activity of 2% Chlorhexidine

Introduction: A great interest regarding 2% chlorhexidine solution is over its efficiency on gram-negative bacteria, but chlorhexidine sensitive microorganisms include gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The aim of the study was to analyze the antimicrobial and antifungal action of 2% chlorhexidine solution against the microorganisms isolated from infected root canals before and after irrigation. Material and method: Clinical material. We took samples from 20 incisors of 20 patients. Sampling procedure. We followed all the rules necessary for sampling under sterile conditions. Three microorganisms: Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans were identified from infected root canals, based on culture, and biochemical characteristics and pathogenicity tests. The statistical analysis was performed using a statistical analysis program (SPSS Statistics 16.0). A log10 transformation of the CFU (colony forming units) values was performed to normalize the data.
Results: The frequency of the isolated microorganisms before irrigation with 2% chlorhexidine solution were: Enterococcus faecalis – 3.18±1.84 CFU, Staphylococcus aureus – 1.92±0.79 CFU, Candida albicans – 2.12±1.10 CFU and after irrigation were: Enterococcus faecalis – 0.67±0.20 CFU, Staphylococcus aureus – 0.95±0.26 CFU, Candida albicans – 1.02±0.35 CFU. The difference between the means of isolated germs’ CFU before and after irrigation with 2% chlorhexidine solution is statistically significant (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The use of 2% chlorhexidine solution as endodontic irrigant reduces the number of the studied microorganisms’ colony forming units.