Is Antimicrobial Agents Can Considered As Effective Weapons Against Endodontic Infections by Enterococcus Faecalis?



Pourhajibagher M¹ ; Bahador A¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Der Pharma Chemica Published:2015

Abstract

Endodontic infections, the infection of the dental root canal system, have a polymicrobial nature that characterized by mostly anaerobic and some facultative bacteria. Among them, Enterococcus faecalis is associated with a significant number of persistent endodontic infections. It has a large number of virulence factors that may be related with various stages of pathogenesis. Eradication of infectious agents or significantly reduction the microbial load is very important in treatment of endodontic infections. Although current treatment options are combination antibiotic therapies, E. faecalis can also have acquired antibiotic resistance to numerous classes of antibiotics due to its high genome plasticity. Treatment failures and resistance development have made therapy difficult. In this paper, we discuss the physiological features and ability of biofilm formation of E. faecalis, as well as pathogenesis and effective treatment of endodontic infections by E. faecalis. Knowledge about the pathogenesis of E. faecalis endodontic infections and mechanisms of E. faecalis antimicrobial resistance may help to prevent failures of endodontic treatment attributed to this organism.