Influence of microbiology on endodontic failure. Literature review

Abstract

Background: The main cause of endodontic failure is the persistence of microorganisms that cause an intraradicular or extratradicular infection and that become resistant to disinfection measures. The objective of this review is to identify the microbiota associated with endodontic failure, as well as the reasons why these microorganisms are capable of surviving basic disinfection measures. Material and Methods: Systematic search of scientific articles in the databases PubMed with the following keywords “Endodontic Infections”, “Endodontic Microbiology”, “Endodontic Failure”, “Enterococcus Faecalis”, “Endodontics Retreatment” was carried out. Case reports and articles with publication date prior to 2000 were not included in this review. Results: Most authors highlight E. faecalis as the main microorganism associated with endodontic failure, nevertheless there are recent studies that isolate, to a greater extent, other bacteria such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Propionibacterium. Discussion: These microorganisms have in common the following proprieties, which make them able to escape the disinfection measures: the ability to form a biofilm, to locate in areas unreachable to root canal instrumentation techniques, synergism, the ability to express survival genes and activate alternative metabolic pathways.