Bacterial Reduction After Supplementary Disinfection Procedures in Infected Root Canals

The purpose of this study is to understand the effect that 3 different types of root canal procedures have on bacteria.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Dental Pulp Necroses
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: GentleWave System Root Canal Therapy; Device: EdgePro Laser Root Canal Therapy; Device: The ProUltra Piezo Ultrasonic with EndoUltra Tips Root Canal Therapy

Detailed Description

Sample Size Calculation Sample size was calculated by STATISTICA v8.0 software (StatSoft, Tulsa, OK, USA), that demonstrated 23 teeth per group are needed to show a 5% difference in bacterial levels at 90% power. Considering possible losses, ninety adult subjects will be selected.

Case Selection and Eligibility Criteria Participants will be recruited at the Endodontic Clinic at the University of Iowa. The inclusion criteria will be patients 18 years or older, teeth with intact pulp chamber walls, no response to cold and electric pulp testing and apical periodontitis.

Teeth with vital pulp, incomplete root formation, extensive crown destruction, previous endodontic treatment or intervention (pulp debridement), acute/ chronic apical abscess, internal or external resorption, non-odontogenic facial pain, periodontal probing deeper than 4 mm, advanced untreated periodontal disease or recent periodontal surgery, teeth with mobility score > 2, fracture or visible crack, patients with diabetes or immune-compromised conditions, patients who received systemic antibiotics within the last three months, or taking corticosteroids, and pregnancy will be excluded.

Study Intervention Root canal samples will be taken under strict asepsis, as described by Rodrigues et al. (21). Operative field will be disinfected using 3% hydrogen peroxide and 3% NaOCl under rubber dam isolation. Once the access cavity is prepared, 10% sodium thiosulfate solution will be injected into the pulp chamber, and the sterility control (SC) will be taken from the access cavity walls' internal surfaces using sterile paper points. This sample will be transferred aseptically to a cryotube containing RNA later (Ambion, Austin, TX) and stored at -20°C.

The first sample (S1) will be taken as the baseline quantity of bacteria before chemomechanical preparation. One ml of 10% sodium thiosulfate solution will be injected into the canal, and a sterile paper point will be introduced up to that length for 1 minute, transferred in cryotubes containing RNA later, and stored at -20°C.

The root canal will be shaped and cleaned using rotary endodontic instruments up to size 35/.04, with periodic irrigation with 5 mL of 3% NaOCl between each instrumentation. After apical preparation, the canal will be dried with sterile paper points and then washed with 1 mL of 10% sodium thiosulfate for 1 minute to inactivate NaOCl. After that, a second sample (S2) will be collected and stored as described for S1.

Teeth specimens will be randomly assigned to three groups (n=30) according to the type of supplementary disinfection approaches used: (1) GWS, (2) LAI, and (3) UAI. These devices will be used as stated above in phase 1 of this study. After using supplementary disinfection approaches, a third sample (S3) will be collected from the root canal and stored as described above for S1 and S2.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 90
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Abhishek Parolia, PhD, MDS; Phone Number: (319) 335-7471; Email: abhishek-parolia@uiowa.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Iowa
    • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
      • Recruiting
      • University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics
      • Contact: Abhishek Parolia, DDS, PhD; Phone Number: (319) 335-7471; Email: abhishek-parolia@uiowa.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of pulp necrosis with apical periodontitis (AP) confirmed by pulp tests, clinical and radiographic evidence.
• Tooth with no response to cold and electric pulp testing (done at screening).
• Single canalled premolars with intact pulp chamber walls.
• Patient must be 18 years of age or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Teeth with vital pulp.
• Teeth with incomplete root formation (immature with apical periodontitis).
• Teeth with extensive crown destruction.
• Teeth with previous endodontic treatment or intervention (pulp debridement).
• Teeth with acute/ chronic apical abscess.
• Teeth with internal or external resorption.
• Teeth with non-odontogenic facial pain.
• Teeth with periodontal pockets deeper than 4 mm.
• Teeth with advanced untreated periodontal disease or recent periodontal surgery.
• Teeth with mobility score greater than 2.
• Teeth with a fracture or visible crack.
• Patients with diabetes or immune compromised conditions.
• Patients who received systemic antibiotics within the last 3 months.
• Patients taking corticosteroids.
• Patients who are pregnant.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: GentleWave System Root Canal Therapy; Sterile paper points will be inserted into the root canal at 3 time points: (i) before instrumentation, (ii) after washing the canal with 10% sodium thiosulfate, and (iii) after the GentleWave System root canal therapy has been completed. The paper points will collect bacteria, which will be analyzed via real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction to assess bacterial counts.	Device: GentleWave System Root Canal Therapy; This device has 510k market approval for its intended use within this study.
Experimental: EdgePro Laser Root Canal Therapy; Sterile paper points will be inserted into the root canal at 3 time points: (i) before instrumentation, (ii) after washing the canal with 10% sodium thiosulfate, and (iii) after the EdgePro Laser root canal therapy has been completed. The paper points will collect bacteria, which will be analyzed via real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction to assess bacterial counts.	Device: EdgePro Laser Root Canal Therapy; This device has 510k market approval for its intended use within this study.
Experimental: The ProUltra Piezo Ultrasonic with EndoUltra Tips Root Canal Therapy; Sterile paper points will be inserted into the root canal at 3 time points: (i) before instrumentation, (ii) after washing the canal with 10% sodium thiosulfate, and (iii) after the ProUltra Piezo Ultrasonic with EndoUltra Tips root canal therapy has been completed. The paper points will collect bacteria, which will be analyzed via real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction to assess bacterial counts.	Device: The ProUltra Piezo Ultrasonic with EndoUltra Tips Root Canal Therapy; This device has 510k market approval for its intended use within this study.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assessment of the changes in the bacterial count at various time points during the root canal procedure.	Sterile paper points will be inserted into the root canal in order to collect bacteria. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction will be used to assess the bacterial counts.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and during the intervention and immediately after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Abhishek Parolia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Abhishek Parolia, PhD, MDS, University of Iowa

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 20, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 19, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 22, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 26, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 11, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Stomatognathic Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Dental Pulp Diseases; Tooth Diseases; Necrosis; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Dental Pulp Necrosis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 202402221

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No