Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Mar 13;12(3):e7257.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.7257.

The Influence of Enterococcus faecalis as a Dental Root Canal Pathogen on Endodontic Treatment: A Systematic Review

Faisal Alghamdi  1 , Marwa Shakir  2
Affiliations
Review

The Influence of Enterococcus faecalis as a Dental Root Canal Pathogen on Endodontic Treatment: A Systematic Review

Faisal Alghamdi et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Endodontic treatment failure may occur due to different causes such as persistence of bacteria, root canals that are poorly cleaned and obturated, improper coronal seal (leakage), and untreated canals (missed canals). The main reason for endodontic failure is the presence of some species of bacteria inside the root canal system such as Enterococcus (E.) faecalis. Those bacteria are more resistant to disinfection agents, causing a persistent intra-radicular or extra-radicular infection. The current review aims to compile all the current studies concerning Enterococcus faecalis as a dental root canal pathogen that causes endodontic failure. In this systemic review, two databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, were searched using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among 2943 studies, only 11 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review for further analysis. The 11 studies give prominence to the high distribution of Enterococcus faecalis within the root canal system. These studies investigated different aspects of Enterococcus faecalis, including its prevalence, resistance mechanisms, characteristics, express survival genes, and treatment. The compiled data observed that most of the studies highlight Enterococcus faecalis as the primary pathogen associated with endodontic treatment. It has characteristic proprieties that make it capable of escaping disinfection means. Furthermore, clinical trials are required to examine E. faecalis and may provide valuable information about novel microbial detection methods to decrease the number of E. faecalis within the root canal system.

Keywords: bacteria; endodontic pathogens; endodontic treatment; enterococcus faecalis; infections; microbiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart showing the strategy used in this systematic review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. An in vitro evaluation of the antibacterial efficacy of chlorine dioxide on E. faecalis in bovine incisors. Eddy RS, Joyce AP, Roberts S, Buxton TB, Liewehr F. J Endod. 2005;31:672–675. - PubMed
    1. In vitro evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of chlorhexidine and sodium hypochlorite. Vianna ME, Gomes BP, Berber VB, Zaia AA, Ferraz CC, de Souza-Filho FJ. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2004;97:79–84. - PubMed
    1. Microorganisms from canals of root-filled teeth with periapical lesions. Pinheiro ET, Gomes BP, Ferraz CC, Sousa EL, Teixeira FB, Souza-Filho FJ. Int Endod J. 2003;36:1–11. - PubMed
    1. Association of Enterococcus faecalis with different forms of periradicular diseases. Rocas IN, Siqueira JF Jr, Santos KR. J Endod. 2004;30:315–320. - PubMed
    1. Microbiology of endodontic infections. Singh H. https://scientonline.org/open-access/microbiology-of-endodontic-infectio... J Dent Oral Hyg. 2016;2:1–4.

LinkOut - more resources