Surface analysis of gutta percha after disinfecting with sodium hypochlorite and silver nanoparticles by atomic force microscopy: An in vitro study

Background: Sodium hypochlorite (5.25% NaOCl) and silver nanoparticles (70 ug/ml AgNPs) have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial efficacy for disinfecting gutta percha (GP) point, so this study was conducted to analyze the assay surface topography of GP when disinfected with AgNPs and 5.25% of NaOCl using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study a total of thirty cones were taken. The samples were divided into three treatment groups: Group I and II with 70 μg/ml AgNPs and 5.25% NaOCl. The time duration was 1 min. Untreated GP points served as control group. After treatment of 1 min for each solution, the samples were positioned in the AFM. For comparison, the root mean square (RMS) was used to investigate the structure of the GP points. Unpaired t-test and ANOVA test were used. The differences among the groups were tested by Tukey's honestly significant difference test and were considered significant when P < 0.05. Results: 5.25% NaOCl created RMS value of 202.48 nm at 1 min as compared to 70 μg/ml of AgNPs and control which produced RMS value of 44.48 nm and 24.1 nm, respectively (