Introductio: Healing potential of plants is an age-old idea that has recently attained renewed interest. Considering the ineffectiveness, potentially harmful effects, and safety concerns of commonly used synthetic irrigants, the herbal alternatives for endodontic usage might prove to be advantageous.
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of smear layer removal and cytotoxicity potential of triphala in comparison to sodium hypochlorite.
Materials and methods: The study was conducted in two parts: the first part of the study was cytotoxicity assessment studied using Alamar blue assay. L929 mouse fibroblasts were seeded in 96-well plates at a density of 5000 cells/well and treated with different concentrations of triphala and NaOCl for a period of 24 and 48 h. The percentage of cell viability was then quantified using an Alamar blue assay. The optical density was measured at 570 nm and compared with 620 nm, which was considered as a reference wavelength. The second part of the study was smear layer assessment at the coronal, middle, and apical third of twenty human premolar teeth using scanning electron microscope.
Results: The Alamar blue reagent cytotoxicity study suggested that triphala showed no cytotoxic properties against the normal mouse fibroblast cells whereas sodium hypochlorite showed a significant cytotoxic effect against the L929 cell lines with the IC50 concentration at 1.8%, respectively, after the treatment of 24 h of incubation at 37°C temperature. Triphala was as effective as sodium hypochlorite in smear layer removal in the coronal and middle third of the root, but sodium hypochlorite showed better smear layer removal in the apical third.
Conclusion: Triphala can be considered as a superior irrigant with good antibacterial efficacy and least cytotoxicity potential compared to conventional hypochlorite irrigating agent and provide adequate clearing of smear layer in the coronal and middle third, and further studies are warranted to alter the properties of liquid to make it more cleansable in the apical third of the root.
Keywords: Cytotoxicity; L929 mouse fibroblasts; herbal irrigant; primary research; scanning electron microscopy; smear layer removal; sodium hypochlorite; triphala.