An in vivo comparative clinical and radiographic evaluation of a mixture of zinc oxide-Ocimum sanctum extract, zinc oxide-ozonated oil, and zinc oxide-eugenol as obturating materials in primary molars.

Abstract

Background: To overcome some of the disadvantages of the current primary root canal obturating materials, there is a continued interest in search for chemical compounds with broader and more effective antibacterial action and less cytotoxicity.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate and compare in vivo the clinical and radiographic success of mixtures of zinc oxide-Ocimum sanctum extract, zinc oxide-ozonated oil, and zinc oxide-eugenol (ZOE) as obturating materials in pulpectomy of primary molars.

Settings and design: This was an in vivo randomized controlled clinical trial.

Materials and methods: Ninety primary molars selected were randomly divided into three groups. Group A was obturated with zinc oxide-O. sanctum extract, Group B with zinc oxide-ozonated oil, and Group C with ZOE. All the groups were evaluated for success or failure based on clinical and radiographic criteria at the end of 1, 6, and 12 months.

Statistical analysis used: The intra- and inter-examiner reliability of the first and the second co-investigators was calculated by Cohen's kappa statistic. The data were analyzed using Chi-square test, P ≤ 0.05 (indicates statistical significance).

Results: By the end of 12 months, the overall clinical success rate was 88%, 95.7%, and 90.9% in Groups A, B, and C, respectively; whereas the radiographic success rate was found to be 80%, 91.3%, and 86.4% in Groups A, B, and C, respectively.

Conclusion: On the basis of the overall success rates of all the three obturating materials, the following order of performance can be concluded: zinc oxide-ozonated oil > ZOE > zinc oxide-O. sanctum extract.