Comparison of the disinfection effects of calcium hydroxide and formocresol on teeth with periapical periodontitis

Objective To study the disinfecting effects of calcium hydroxide and formocresol on fistula periapical periodontitis in root canals of infected teeth.Methods A total of 156 teeth with fistula periapical periodontitis were divided into two groups.Group A(81 cases) was disinfected using calcium hydroxide and Group B(75 cases) using formocresol.Both types of disinfectants were put into root canals by using step-back techniques,and their therapeutic effects were examined at different time later.Results Both disinfectants led to alleviation or disappearance of toothache.The therapeutic effect of calcium hydroxide was better(92.59%) than that of formocresol(78.67%) in a week.The teeth with root canal therapy emergencies(RCTE) in group B were more than in group A during and after root canal therapy.There was statistical significance in the effect of the two groups.Conclusion For teeth with fistula periapical periodontitis calcium hydroxide is a relatively suitable root canal disinfectant.