Introduction: Apical periodontitis is caused usually by bacterial infection in the root canal. Enterococcus faecalis is considered to be the main pathogen associated with periapical lesions. The main goal of endodontic treatment is to remove as many bacteria as possible from the root canal system and then create an environment in which other organisms cannot survive. Unfortunately, this cannot always be obtained with mechanical processing and proper irrigation of the root canal system only.
Aim: The purpose of this article is to present and compare the main materials used to treat the root canal.
Materials and Methods: In this review of the literature related articles and publications will be reviewed and the results of researches on the topic will be summarized.
Results: The review of all the included related articles and publications shows that a significant number of intracanal medicaments can be used in order to treat existing inflammatory processes inside the root canals and reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms. Some of them have a questionable effect on the health of the periapical tissues and therefore their use has been limited in modern endodontics.
Conclusion: According to the available literature-based evidence, the two-visit treatment of teeth diagnosed with asymptomatic apical periodontitis, which includes a placement of an intracanal medication, provides good results in the reduction of the inflammatory process in the periapical tissues and the amount of pathogenic microorganisms.
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