Comparación de la Concentración de Hipoclorito de Sodio en la Atención Dental entre Dentistas Generales y Especialistas en Endodoncia

The shelf life of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is limited, several studies point out the possibility of discrepancies between the expected concentration and the actual concentration in NaOCl solutions used as endodontic irrigants. The present study investigated whether there is any difference in the concentration used by endodontists and general dentists. NaOCl solution is to date the most widely used root canal irrigation solution, but there is no general agreement as to its optimal concentration, which varies from 0.5% to 5.25%. This study was analytical experimental. The sample size was for convenience. The subjects studied were specialists in endodontics and general dentists who work in both public and private care, in the city of Santiago de Chile. They participated in the study voluntarily, for which they filled out an informed consent and completed a previously validated survey. Each subject provided a sample of the sodium hypochlorite solution used in their clinical practice. The samples were collected in dark plastic containers and were stored without being exposed to light and refrigerated until analysis. For the laboratory analysis, spectrophotometry was used, for statistical analysis the Student and Fischer tests were used to measure whether there were differences between the concentrations of sodium hypochlorite used by endodontists and general dentists. Conclusions: There is a difference in the concentration of sodium hypochlorite in solutions of sodium hypochlorite used by endodontists and general dentists. All samples collected have a concentration equal to or greater than. to 4.7% hypochlorite. There are differences between the actual concentration of sodium hypochlorite in solutions for irrigation and that surveyed in the case of general dentists. In this case, the actual concentrations are more than twice as high as those surveyed. There are differences between the actual concentration of sodium hypochlorite in solutions for irrigation and that expected in the case of general dentists. The real ones are even slightly higher than those surveyed.