Propylene Glycol: A New Alternative for an Intracanal Medicament

For successful endodontic therapy, the most important factor is root canal cleaning. The difficulty involved in eliminating microorganisms, as well as their residual presence, after biomechanical preparation warrants the use of root canal dressings. For this proposed study, single rooted extracted permanent tooth were selected. The teeth are randomly divided into two groups to fill the canals: Group I: Calcium hydroxide-propylene glycol paste. Group II: Calcium hydroxide-saline paste. After complete filing of the root canal, the pH values of the solutions in the flasks are measured at an interval of 3, 24, 72, and 168 h. Data obtained was entered into Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and then transferred to SPSS version 16.0 Software for the statistical analysis. After 168 h interval, it was noticed that the mean pH obtained by calcium hydroxide - propylene glycol paste 9.70 ± 0.45 which was greater than calcium hydroxide - saline paste 9.16 ± 0.30 consecutively. Therefore, propylene glycol can also be used as a calcium hydroxide's vehicle. The calcium hydroxide - propylene glycol paste was able to diffuse through the dentinal tubules. Thus, it can be used as a vehicle for calcium hydroxide.