Evidence-based efficacy of ozone for root canal irrigation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bovine pulp tissue dissolution ability of HealOzone, Aquatine Alpha Electrolyte® and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite, used alone or in combination. Thirty bovine pulp fragments were weighed, divided into six groups and placed individually in Eppendorf tubes containing the tested solution until total dissolution occurred. The groups were: G1: saline (negative control), G2: Aquatine Alpha Electrolyte®, G3: 0.5% NaOCl (positive control), G4: Saline + HealOzone, G5: 0.5% NaOCl + HealOzone, G6: Aquatine Alpha Electrolyte® + HealOzone. HealOzone was activated for 2 min with a #6 cup covering the test tube opening on a fixed platform. Two blinded observers using 2¥ loupes magnification assessed the samples continuously for the first 2 h, and then every hour for the next 8 h. Dissolution speed was calculated by dividing pulp weight by dissolution time (mg min-1). G3 (NaOCl) and G5 (NaOCl + HealOzone) dissolved the pulp tissue completely. The mean dissolution speed for G3 was 0.396 mg min-1 (SD 0.032) and for G5 was 0.775 mg min-1 (SD 0.2). Student’s t-test showed that G5 dissolved bovine pulp tissue faster than G3 (P = 0.01). Only groups containing sodium hypochlorite dissolved pulp tissue, whilst HealOzone enhanced speed of