Prevalence of Bacteria Following Endodontic Treatment

Prevalence and Phenotype of Oral Enterococcus Faecalis

Sampling of accessed root canals with endodontic paper points during treatment and immediately pre-obturation of endodontic root canals was carried out.

Following ethical approval (REC ref: 05/Q0705/051), informed consent was obtained from patients undergoing root canal treatment.The teeth included in the study had been referred to a specialist centre for the treatment of endodontic infection. They all responded negatively to vitality tests and presented pre-operative apical radiolucencies. The source population were referred by their general dental practitioner into specialist endodontic clinics of Guy's Hospital, King's College London Dental Institute.Treatments on the teeth were carried out by a total of 19 postgraduate endodontic students.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with single or multi-rooted teeth undergoing root canal treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• For certain aspects of the study secondary treatments and vital teeth are excluded.