Evaluación de la eficacia antimicrobiana de tres protocolos de lavado y desinfección de limas endodónticas tipo K

Abstract

Introduction: from a socioeconomic context, in Latin America and particularly in Colombia it is common for dental professionals to reuse endodontic files due to their high cost, this has led to the adoption of medium and high level disinfection measures that avoid the risk of cross contamination both between patients and contaminations between patients and professionals. Objective: to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of three protocols for washing and disinfecting type K endodontic files in use in the dental clinics of the Santo Tomás University of Bucaramanga, in 2023 Materials and methods: In vitro experimental study where 60 type K files were taken and used in endodontic procedures to subsequently apply three disinfection protocols. Efficacy was evaluated through microbial growth in various culture media, as well as the count of Colony Forming Units (CFU). Results: after 24 hours, 81.7% (49) of the incubated files showed turbidity associated with the growth of microorganisms; On the other hand, 18.3% (11) of the incubated samples did not present microbial growth. However, after 48 hours of incubation, 91.7% (55) of the samples showed turbidity; while 8.3% (5) of the incubated files continued without microbiological growth both at 24 hours and at 48 hours Conclusions: it was possible to show that the three protocols evaluated reduce the microbial load of type K endodontic files in clinical use However, they do not achieve disinfectant potential. It is suggested to continue studies that provide scientific evidence on the need to maintain the sole use of files, as well as alternatives to achieve their disinfection and sterilization.