Antimicrobial efficacy of the EndoVac system plus PDT against intracanal Candida albicans: an ex vivo study

This study evaluated the ex vivoantimicrobial efficacy of the EndoVac system and the photodynamic therapy (PDT) associated with chemomechanical debridement (CMD) and intracanal medication on Candida albicans. Seventy-eight sterile premolars were contaminated withC. albicans (ATCC 21433) for 30 days. The teeth were randomly assigned into four groups: Control (CMD with conventional irrigation); Endovac (CMD with EndoVac system); PDT (CMD with conventional irrigation and PDT); and Endovac + PDT (CMD with EndoVac and PDT). After the therapies, intracanal dressing (calcium hydroxide) was applied to all teeth for seven days. Samples were obtained before (T1) and after the therapeutic procedures (T2), and after intracanal medication (T3), plated onto BHI agar and incubated (37°C, 48 h) to determine the colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. The overall mean level ofC. albicans at baseline was relatively high (1.85 x 106 ± 2.7 x 106 CFU mL-1). A significant reduction of C. albicans(p