Evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy of two commercially available probiotics against Enterococcus faecalis: An in vitro study

Context: The antimicrobial activity of probiotics determined by colony-forming units when used against Enterococcus faecalis thereby can be used as an alternative intracanal medicament in root canal therapy. Aim: To evaluate the two commercially available probiotics antibacterial effectiveness against E. faecalis in root canal treatment. Settings and Design: In vitro study. Subjects and Methods: Sixty-two extracted mandibular premolars were decoronated and instrumented up to ProTaper Gold F2 (Dentsply, USA) using 2.5% sodium hypochlorite irrigation followed by 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Samples were autoclaved and inoculated with the test organism E. faecalis (American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 29212) for 7 days, kept in a sealed container at 37°C. Sixty samples were divided into four groups ( n = 15): Group 1 – Cyraflora ( Saccharomyces boulardii ), Group 2 – Econorm ( Bacillus species), Group 3 – 2% chlorhexidine gel, and Group 4 – calcium hydroxide. Then, the respective intracanal medicaments were placed inside the root canal space and sealed with glass ionomer cement (GIC). After 7 days, coronal GIC was removed, irrigated, dried, and dentinal scrappings were taken by using H files, and bacterial counts were evaluated. Statistical Analysis: One-way analysis of variance was used to examine the data, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for intergroup comparisons. Results: The findings demonstrated the efficacy of probiotics S. boulardii and Bacillus species against E. faecalis , with a decrease in colony-forming units following probiotic use. Conclusion: As an alternate intracanal medication, probiotics can be utilized to effectively combat E. faecalis.