Comparison of the effect of calcium hydroxide and formocresol on treatment of chronic periapical periodontitis

Objective:To study the disinfecting effect of calcium hydroxide in root canals of infected teeth.Methods:A total of 97 teeth with chronic periapical periodontitis were divided into two groups,based on the date of dentist working on odd or even week days.Group A was disinfected using calcium hydroxide and Group B using formocresol,respectively.Both types of disinfectants were put into root canals by using crown-down presentation techniques.and their therapeutic effects were examined one week later.Results:Both disinfectants led to alleviation or disappearance of toothache.For teeth with knocking pain and fistula,however,the therapeutic effect of calcium hydroxide was higher(89.8%) than that of formocresol(70.8%),with statistical significance(P0.05).Conclusion:For teeth with chronic periapical periodontitis,calcium hydroxide is an relatively suitable root canal disinfectant.