The Antimicrobial Activity of an Atmospheric-Pressure Room-Temperature Plasma in a Simulated Root-Canal Model Infected With Enterococcus Faecalis

The antimicrobial activity of an atmospheric-pressure room-temperature plasma jet on simulated root canals infected with Enterococcus faecalis is studied. The samples are divided randomly into 12 experimental groups and one control group. All experimental groups exhibited a significant reduction in viable bacteria compared with the control group (
P
<; 0.01 ). The largest reductions were obtained in Group 9 (with plasma jet containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite sterilization for 12 min after irrigating the root canals with 1-ml sterile physiologic saline) and Group 12 (with plasma-jet sterilization for 12 min after irrigating the root canals with 1-ml sterile physiologic saline), with 6.21 and 5.62 log reductions, respectively. It is concluded that plasma jet containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite as well as plasma jet only can effectively sterilize the simulated root canals.