ROOT CANAL AND DENTINAL TUBULES DISINFECTION THROUGH THE USE OF ENTEROCOCCUS FAECALIS BACTERIOPHAGES

Abstract

Enterococcus faecalis is a facultative bacterium present in infected canals, that causes infections that are difficult to treat. It is a predominant pathogen in persistent periapical infections and have the ability to form biofilms as one of its main characteristics. In addition, E. faecalis has increased virulence factors, greater adherence capacity and antimicrobial resistance. Bacteriophages or phages are a set of viruses capable of destroying specific disease-causing bacteria, by invading bacterial cells, interrupting their metabolism, and causing cell lysis. Prior to the discovery and use of antibiotics, phage therapy was an alternative to infections. For these reasons, this pilot study aimed to determine the potential use of bacteriophages in combating endodontic infections associated with E. faecalis as an aid to root canal and dentinal tubule disinfection. As this is a pilot study, a small sample size was used for its development. Nine single-rooted human teeth, contaminated with E. faecalis, were kept in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) medium for bacterial culture for 29 days with changes every 48hrs. Teeth divided into three groups: negative control, positive control and experimental group. After culture, the samples were vertically sectioned, followed by visualization of the biofilm by means of bioluminescence, and the bacteriophages action by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results proved the bacteriophages and bioluminescence effectiveness against E. faecalis, being possible to notice a significant reduction of bacteria inside the root canal and dentinal tubules. This study allowed to outline an alternative treatment against endodontic biofilm, in addition to the action of antimicrobials, seeking to better understand the functioning of the endodontic biofilm, phages and their applications in Endodontics.