Objective: The aim of this study was to monitor the effectiveness of root canal procedures by using different irrigants and intracanal medication on endotoxin levels found in root canals of teeth with chronic apical periodontitis. Material and Methods: Thirty root canals of teeth with pulpal necrosis associated with periapical lesions were selected and randomly divided into groups according to the irrigants used: GI - 2.5% NaOCl, GII - 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) gel, and GIII - saline solution (SS) (all, n=10). Samples were collected with sterile/apyrogenic paper points before (S1) and after root canal instrumentation (S2), after use of 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) (S3), and after 30 days of intracanal medication (Ca(OH)2+SS) (S4). A turbidimetric kinetic Limulus Amebocyte Lysate assay was used for endotoxin measurement. Results: Endotoxins were detected in 100% of the root canals investigated (30/30), with a median value of 18.70 EU/mL. After S2, significant median percentage reduction was observed in all groups, irrespective of the irrigant tested: 2.5% NaOCl (99.65%) (GI), 2% CHX (94.27%) (GII), and SS (96.79%) (GIII) (all p<0.05). Root canal rinse with 17% EDTA (S3) for a 3-minute period failed to decrease endotoxin levels in GI and a slight decrease was observed in GII (59%) and GIII (61.1%) (all p>0.05). Intracanal medication for 30 days was able to significantly reduce residual endotoxins: 2.5% NaOCl (90%) (GI), 2% CHX (88.8%) (GII), and SS (85.7%) (GIII, p<0.05). No differences were found in the endotoxin reduction when comparing s2 and s4 treatment groups. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the mechanical action of the instruments along with the flow and backflow of irrigant enduring root canal instrumentation for the endotoxin removal from root canals of teeth with chronic apical periodontitis. Moreover, the use of intracanal medication for 30 days contributed for an improvement of endotoxin reduction.

Gram-negative bacteria play an essential role in endodontic infections because they have virulence factors such as endotoxin. Due to its potential cytotoxic activity, special attention has been given to the removal/neutralization of this endotoxin in the root canal system. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the apical enlargement size (AES) by using rotary instruments on the endotoxin level reduction of dental root canals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty root canals of the mandibular premolar teeth were used. Escherichia coli endotoxin (055: B55) was inoculated into thirty root canals. Ten teeth served as the negative control group. After the incubation period, the first endotoxin samples were collected from the root canals with a sterile/apyrogenic paper point for the analysis of the endotoxin units (EU/mL) present before instrumentation (S1). Specimen instrumentation was performed with the Mtwo® rotary system in the sequence 10/.04, 15/.05, 20/.06, 25/.06, 30/.05, 35/.04 and 40/.04. To monitor the effectiveness of increasing apical enlargement on endotoxin removal, the second endotoxin samples were collected from all the root canals after instrumentation with the following instruments: #25/.06- (S2); #30/.05- (S3); # 35/.04- (S4); and #40/.04- (S5). Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) was used to quantify the levels of endotoxin. The results were statistically compared by using repeated measures of ANOVA with post hoc Tukey testing. RESULTS: Increasing levels of endotoxin removal was achieved by large sized apical enlargement: S2 (AES #25/.06)- 89.2%, S3 (AES #30/.05)- 95.9%, S4 (AES #35/.04)- 97.8% and S5 (AES #40/.04)- 98.2%. Substantial reduction of endotoxin content was obtained in S4 and S5 compared to S2 (p<0.05), however, the root canal preparation was not able to eliminate the endotoxin. CONCLUSIONS: Under the conditions of this study, it was concluded that the reduction of endotoxin levels of the dental root canals could be predicted by increasing the apical enlargement size.