Abstract
Persistent Enterococcus faecalis infections in root canals following endodontic therapy pose significant treatment challenges due to its antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of probiotic irrigant (Lactobacillus rhamnosus) with and without mentha piperata essential oil against E. faecalis by measuring zones of inhibition on Mueller Hinton agar and blood agar plates at 24- and 48-hour intervals. E. faecalis was cultured on agar plates, and three irrigant solutions were tested: 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (Group 1), probiotic irrigant alone (Group 2) and probiotic irrigant with mentha piperata essential oil (Group 3). Data shows that probiotic irrigant combined with mentha piperata essential oil (Group 3) exhibited significantly larger zones of inhibition compared to sodium hypochlorite alone (Group 1) on both media, while probiotic irrigant without essential oil (Group 2) showed comparable inhibition to sodium hypochlorite. Probiotic irrigant combined with Mentha piperita essential oil demonstrates superior antimicrobial efficacy against E. faecalis, with recommendations for future In vivo studies to evaluate effectiveness under complex oral conditions.