Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Different Essential Oil Gutta–Percha Solvents Against Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans

Essential oils are a common alternative to chloroform for dissolving gutta–percha. This study evaluated the antimicrobial effects of chloroform and six essential oil gutta–percha solvents: eucalyptus oil, orange oil, clove oil, rosemary oil, grapefruit oil, and castor oil, against Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans by using disk diffusion techniques. The impregnated sterile disk with 10 μL of pure, tested solvents was inoculated on agar plates at three time contacts: 3 min, 10 min, and 24 h. The mean diameter of the zone of inhibition (ZOI) of each solvent was measured after 24 h of incubation. Against Enterococcus faecalis, in both 3 min and 10 min contact, rosemary oil had the largest ZOI (11.40 ± 0.90 and 11.55 ± 0.68 mm), and orange oil showed the smallest ZOI (7.90 ± 0.31 and 9.05 ± 0.68 mm), respectively. Eucalyptus oil exhibited ZOI with persistence, while grapefruit oil and castor oil showed no ZOI. After 24 h of contact, the largest ZOI was recorded for orange oil. Against Candida albicans, at all three time points, clove oil produced the largest ZOI (20.25 ± 0.82, 23.10 ± 0.93, 30.59 ± 0.74 mm) and chloroform the smallest (10.4 ± 0.77, 9.85 ± 0.62, 11.6 ± 0.65 mm), for 3 min, 10 min, and 24 h, respectively. Conclusively, clove oil, orange oil, and rosemary oil exhibit significant antimicrobial activity like chloroform.