2% Chlorhexidine gel gave the best results. Among the herbal extracts Propolis and Curcuma longa hold a promising future but to implement their use as sole intracanal medicaments clinically, further in vivo and long term studies are warranted.

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Introduction:Endodontic infections are polymicrobial in nature. Candida albicans is the most common fungus isolated from failed endodontic cases. The constant increase in antibiotic resistant strains and side-effects caused by synthetic drugs has prompted researchers to look for herbal alternatives such as propolis, Morinda citrifolia and Azadirachta indica (Neem) etc., since, the gold standard for irrigation, i.e., sodium hypochlorite has many disadvantages.Materials and Methods:Extracted human mandibular premolars were biomechanically prepared, vertically sectioned, placed in tissue culture wells exposing the root canal surface to C. albicans grown on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar to form a biofilm. At the end of 2 days, all groups were treated with test solutions and control for 10 min and evaluated for Candida growth and number of colony forming units. The readings were subjected to statistical analysis using analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey tests.Results:Sodium hypochlorite and propolis groups exhibited highest antimicrobial efficacy against C. albicans with no statistically significant difference. It was followed by the A. indica (Neem) group. M. citrifolia had limited antifungal action followed by the negative control group of saline.Conclusion:According to the results of this study, propolis can be used as an effective antifungal agent similar to that of sodium hypochlorite, although long-term in vivo studies are warranted.

Introduction:The main objective of adhesive dentistry is to create an effective, durable union between the tooth structure and restorative material. However, degradation of adhesive dentine interface remains largely responsible for the relatively short lifetime of tooth colored resin restoration.Aim:The aim of the study is to compare the dentin collagen stabilization property of Chlorhexidine (CHX) and Aloe barbadensis Miller using shear bond strength testing.Materials and Methods:Occlusal reduction was done in sixty extracted human mandibular molars to expose the mid coronal dentin and divided into three groups n = 20. Following the surface pretreatment (Group 1 = control, Group 2 = CHX, Group 3 = Aloevera), dentine bonding agent and composite resin were applied and cured. The specimens were then subjected to shear bond strength testing.Results:From the results analyzed, it was noted that there was statistically significant difference between the groups Control and CHX and Control and A. barbadensis Miller (P < 0.05), specifically the values of Control < CHX and Control < A. barbadensis Miller (P < 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between CHX and A. barbadensis Miller (P > 0.05). Hence, the following result for the shear bond strengths to dentin was obtained: Control < CHX ≈ A. barbadensis Miller.Conclusion:CHX and A. barbadensis Miller, as pretreatment agents of acid demineralized dentin collagen, has no adverse effect on the immediate shear bond strength of a two-step etch and rinse adhesive to dentin.

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