Bacteria have been implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of pulp and periapical
diseases. The primary aim of endodontic treatment is to remove as many bacteria as
possible from the root canal system and then to create an environment in which any
remaining organisms cannot survive. This can only be achieved through the use of a
combination of aseptic treatment techniques, chemomechanical preparation of the root
canal, antimicrobial irrigating solutions and intracanal medicaments. The choice of which …

Antibiotics are an extremely valuable addition to the armamentarium available to health
practitioners for management of bacterial infections. Due to the potential risk of adverse
systemic effects of systemic applications and ineffectiveness of systemic antibiotics in the
necrotic pulpless tooth and the periradicular tissues, local application of antibiotics may be a
more effective mode for delivering antibiotics to infected root canals. This paper reviews the
applications of antibiotics and antibiotics containing medicaments in endodontics.