Comparative evaluation of two different intermediate irrigating solutions in preventing orange brown precipitate formed during alternate use of sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine: an in-vitro study

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of two intermediate endodontic irrigating solutions in eliminating the residual Sodium hypochlorite, thus preventing the formation of the Orange-brown precipitate when 2% Chlorhexidine is used as the final irrigant. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 extracted human maxillary anterior teeth were selected, disinfected and decoronated to obtain a standardized length of 10 mm. The teeth were prepared with Protaper universal rotary files until F4. Irrigation protocol: -2 ml of 2.5% NaOCl was used as an irrigant during instrumentation. The samples were randomly allocated to three groups of 10 samples each based on the use of 2.5 ml of intermediate irrigating solution for 60 seconds as specified below: Group A (Control) No intermediate irrigating solution used Group B - 6.25% Sodium metabisulfite. Group C - 10% Citric acid 2 ml of 2% CHX was used as the final rinse. The roots were sectioned longitudinally and the canal surface were evaluated under Scanning Electron Microscope for the presence of Orange-brown precipitate. Statistical Analysis Used: - One‑way ANOVA test and post hoc Tukey’s test. Results: Group 2 exhibited the least mean scores amongst all the experimental groups (P < 0.05), followed by Group 3 and Group 1. The difference between Group 2 and Group 3 was also statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: 6.25% Sodium metabisulfite is more effective in eliminating the residual Sodium hypochlorite when compared to 10% Citric acid.”