Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Monoculture Biofilms of a Clinical Isolate of Enterococcus faecalis

The purpose of this study was to create a monoculture biofilm of a clinical isolate of Enterococcus faecalis and to determine susceptibility against four antimicrobial irrigants. Biofilms were subjected to 1-, 3-, and 5-minute exposures to one of the following irrigants: 6% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), 2% chlorhexicline gluconate (CHX) or one of two new products, <6% NaOCl with surface modifiers (Chlor-XTRA) or 2% CHX with surface modifiers (CHX-Plus (TM)) (Vista Dental Products, Racine, WI). It was hypothesized that NaOCl and CHX would be equally effective and that addition of surface modifiers would improve bactericidal activity of the respective irrigants compared to the original formulations. Results indicate that 6% NaOCl and ChlorEXTRA (TM) were significantly superior against E. faecalis biolfilms compared to 2% CHX and CHX-Plus (TM) at all time points except five minutes. (J Endod 2009;35: 95-97)