Total Viable Count of Microorganisms in the Infected Dental Pulp

Abstract

A technique for estimating the total viable count of microorganisms in the infected dental pulp is described. The count obtainable using blood agar, tomato juice agar, or Sabouraud's agar solid media is about 106 per tooth. Anaerobes are more numerous than aerobes counted on the blood agar plates. It may be possible to apply this technique for evaluating the efficacy of root canal dressings.