Antibacterial effects of Bioceramic and mineral trioxide aggregate sealers against Enterococcus faecalis clinical isolates

To analyze the antibacterial effect of Bioceramic and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) sealers against Enterococcus faecalis clinical isolates at 2 minutes (fresh), 4 hours (initial setting), 1 day, and 7 days after the sealers were mixed. The antibacterial effects of Bioceramic and MTA sealers were assessed by direct contact tests. Each sealer directly contacted clinical isolates of E. faecalis at 2 minutes, 4 hours, 1 day, and 7 days after the sealers were mixed. The suspension was swabbed in an agar medium and incubated for 24 hours to determine the number of bacterial colonies that grew. The colonies in the agar plates were counted with colony-forming units (CFUs). There were significant differences between Bioceramic and MTA at 7 days, between Bioceramic at 2 minutes (fresh) and 4 hours (initial setting), and between Bioceramic at 4 hours (initial setting) and 7 days. Both Bioceramic and MTA sealers showed good antibacterial effects against E. faecalisat fresh, initial setting, and 1 day after the sealers were mixed. At 7 days after mixing, the MTA sealer was better compared with Bioceramics. Moreover, MTA sealer had a constant antibacterial effect for up to 7 days.