Resumo

PIMIENTA DA SILVA, Amanda; LIMA DOS ANJOS, Aline  e  PERPETUA MOTA FREITAS, Maria. Contamination of absorbent of paper points and gutta percha points used in endodontics: Assessment "in vitro". Stomatos [online]. 2017, vol.23, n.44, pp. 33-40. ISSN 1519-4442.

The endodontic treatment has as goals to seek the disinfection of the root canal. For this, endodontic instruments and materials must be free from microorganisms, since that they may contribute to the installation and or persistence of apical periodontitis after closing the canal. Although paper points and gutta percha are produced under aseptic conditions, they may be contaminated by such factors as aerosol and or physical aspects during storage as well as for handling, even when carefully removed from their packaging. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of microbial contamination of three commercial brands being the absorbent paper cones considered sterile and gutta-percha cones in non-sterile packaging, as provided by the manufacturer, and after placement to clinical use. Methodology: 120 cones were evaluated, 60 of absorbent paper and 60 gutta percha, both of the brands Dentsply Maillefer® sistema Protaper universal (Ballaigues, Suisse), VDW GmbH® sistema Mtwo (Bayerwaldstr, Munich, Alemanha) and Meta Biomed® (Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, Korea), divided into twelve groups (n = 10, each). For microbiological evaluation, these materials were subjected to testing for bacterial growth, as determined by the turbidity of the culture medium. Results: The results showed that none of the marks showed turbidity in sterilized and sealed packages, suggesting the absence of bacterial growth. However, after placement for clinical use, the gutta percha brand Meta Biomed® proved to be contaminated. Conclusion: It can be concluded that packaging as provided by the manufacturers for paper and gutta-percha cones showed no microbial contamination, being reliable, unlike to the opened packagings, justifying the use of a decontamination routine these cones prior to clinical use.

Palavras-chave : Endodontics; sterilization; cones; contamination; biosafety.