Estudio piloto in vitro de la contaminación de los conos de gutapercha empleados en la terapéutica endodóntica

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To establish the presence / absence of contamination of gutta-percha cones used in endodontic therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro study where 8 gutta-percha cones were cultivated divided into four groups, made up of two cones of different commercial brands: group 1 and 2 (new cones), group 3 and 4 (cones exposed to the clinical environment). They were seeded in a medium enriched with chocolate agar and incubated at 36oC. The presence of colonies in the culture medium after incubation was indicative of the existence of bacterial growth, which subsequently allowed the identification of pathogens by means of Gram stain. RESULTS: Groups 2, 3 and 4 showed bacterial growth. The bacterial identification method showed the presence of Gram positive cocci in these groups. CONCLUSIONS: 75% of gutta-percha cones analyzed presented contamination. The high contamination of new cones as well as those exposed to the clinical environment could compromise the integrity of the pulp treatment.