Simvastatin effect on root canal bacteria

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  EFFECTIVENESS OF SIMVASTATIN ON BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM TEETH UNDERGOING ROOT CANAL RETREATMENT (IN-VITRO)

• IRAS ID

  262798

• Contact name

  Mark Barber

• Contact email

  m.barber@sheffield.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 3 months, 20 days

• Research summary

  Research Summary:
  Root canal treatment, also known as Endodontic treatment, is a dental procedure in which the diseased or damaged pulp (core) of a tooth is removed and the inside areas (the pulp chamber and root canals) are filled and sealed. It is a technique sensitive procedure, and treatment failure is relatively common. The major factor for treatment failure is the persistence of bacteria within the root canal system. Development of a new root canal disinfecting agent is desirable. Assessment of the antimicrobial activity of Simvastatin on bacteria taken from teeth undergoing retreatment is suggested. Simvastatin is commonly used to lower blood-cholesterol level and has suspected potential of antibacterial effect. The findings then will be compared with the effect of sodium hypochlorite, which is routinely used in practice to clean the prepared root canals. To obtain fresh bacteria, we will use paper-points to sample the root canals from patients attending endodontic clinics who are diagnosed with primary root canal treatment failure. These samples will be pooled anonymously, plated onto agar immediately or frozen and used later as innocula. The extracted bacteria will be plated onto appropriate special media for detection, and testing. Overall, it is hoped that this study will contribute substantially to current knowledge in the dental field because it could help develop a new root canal supportive treatment. This treatment may increase the success rate, and reduce the overall cost of treatment.

  Lay summary of study results:
  The research was terminated early due to the onset of the Covid
  pandemic and the student undertaking the research unfortunately wasn't able to obtain any
  results.
  The student returned to Saudi Arabia during the pandemic and concluded their postgraduate
  studies soon after, hence the study has not been completed.

• REC name

  London - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  19/LO/0970

• Date of REC Opinion

  27 Jun 2019

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion