Surface analysis of gutta percha after disinfecting with sodium hypochlorite and silver nanoparticles by atomic force microscopy: An in vitro study

Background: Sodium hypochlorite (5.25% NaOCl) and silver nanoparticles (70 ug/ml AgNPs) have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial efficacy for disinfecting gutta percha (GP) point, so this study was conducted to analyze the assay surface topography of GP when disinfected with AgNPs and 5.25% of NaOCl using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study a total of thirty cones were taken. The samples were divided into three treatment groups: Group I and II with 70 μg/ml AgNPs and 5.25% NaOCl. The time duration was 1 min. Untreated GP points served as control group. After treatment of 1 min for each solution, the samples were positioned in the AFM. For comparison, the root mean square (RMS) was used to investigate the structure of the GP points. Unpaired t‑test and ANOVA test were used. The differences among the groups were tested by Tukey’s honestly significant difference test and were considered significant when P < 0.05. Results: 5.25% NaOCl created RMS value of 202.48 nm at 1 min as compared to 70 μg/ml of AgNPs and control which produced RMS value of 44.48 nm and 24.1 nm, respectively (<0.0001). Conclusion: The study showed irregularity in the surface of GP with NaOCl and lesser deterioration with AgNPs which could affect the postoperative prognosis. In this study, it was found that NaOCl causes 10 times more surface topography deterioration of GP when compared to AgNPs at 700 times lesser concentration.