Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Cumin (Nigella Sativa) Seed Oil Extract as an Alternative Disinfectant of Dental Surfaces

Introduction: Cumin (Nigella Sativa) seed oil extract has some ingredients which have antimicrobial effects. The essential oils present in cumin act as antimicrobial agent and it influence on different type of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and also viruses, parasites and fungi. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial properties of cumin extract in disinfecting dentistry surfaces. Material and Methods: This study was performed experimentally and had three groups of cumin extract, Deconex and control group. For each of these groups, 12 culture media were prepared and we counted the colonies created in 24 hours and 48 hours and significance level was assessed using SPSS software and t-test.    Results: At 24 hours, there was a significant difference between the bacterial colony counts of the petri dishes from Cumin Seed (Nigella Sativa) Oil Extract at 5.83 and the Deconex at 0. And at 48 hours, there was also a significant difference since the bacterial colony count on the petri dishes with Cumin (Nigella Sativa) Oil Extract was too many to count and a 0.83 bacterial colony count for the petri dishes with the Deconex. Conclusion: The Cumin (Nigella Sativa) seed oil extract is not suitable to use as an alternative disinfectant of dental surfaces lonely. But some of its ingredients such as thymoquinone and hydroquinone can be used to produce a disinfecting solution.