Abstract

RODRIGUEZ-NIKLITSCHEK, Cynthia  and  OPORTO V, Gonzalo H. Clinical implications of Enterococcus faecalis microbial contamination in root canals of devitalized teeth: Literature review. Rev. Odont. Mex [online]. 2015, vol.19, n.3, pp.181-186. ISSN 1870-199X.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rodmex.2015.04.002.

Dental caries is a highly prevalent disease in the world. Endodontic treatment is an option to treat teeth widely destroyed by dental caries. Even though this type of therapy offers favorable prognosis in most cases, scientific literature suggests there is a possibility for failure. In endodontic treatments, one of the most prevalent causes for treatment failure is permanence of microorganisms within root canals. Among the numerous existing bacterial species, Enterococcus faecalis is one of the most frequently found in teeth with pulp necrosis (lacking previous history of endodontic treatment). It is equally the most frequently isolated species in teeth with infection recurrence (teeth exhibiting evidence of recurrent treatment). To achieve successful endodontic treatment in devitalized teeth it is of the utmost importance to study and be aware of endodontic microbiology. This leads then to the need of studying bacterial behavior within the system of root canals as well as their resistance and defense mechanisms in order to best manage their interaction with the tooth and achieve bacterial obliteration. The present article purports to offer a bibliographic review of existing literature on Enterococus faecalis , its main characteristics as well as resistance mechanisms. Bibliographic search was conducted through electronic databases (EBSCO, Cochcrane, Medline and Lilacs), using search engines (Pubmed and Decs). Included articles were written in Spanish and English and published during the last 30 years. Out of a total 52 articles, 26 were selected; they corresponded to experimental studies and literature reviews.

Keywords : Enterococcus faecalis; endodontics; failed endodontic treatment; endodontic infection.