Vinegar as a disinfectant of extracted human teeth for dental educational use

CONTEXT: Extracted human teeth are routinely used in dentistry to learn technical and preclinical skills. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has adopted guidelines for infection control of extracted teeth used for research and teaching, requiring that teeth be sterilized before use. Many of the proposed disinfection methods starting from use of formalin, sodium hypochlorite and to autoclaving have their own drawbacks and may not be practical. AIM: To assess the effectiveness of vinegar for disinfection/sterilization of extracted human teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 80 extracted non-carious human teeth were kept in seven disinfectant media—10% formalin, 3% hydrogen peroxide, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, 70% alcohol, vinegar, neem extract and normal saline. Ten samples were placed in each disinfectant individually for a period of 7 days, at room temperature. In all, 10 teeth were treated with microwave irradiation at 650 W for 3 min. Later, teeth from each group were placed individually in separate test tubes containing 10 ml of tryptic soy broth at 37°C for 48 h to observe the evidence of growth of microorganisms. Semiquantitative analysis of all the samples was done in Clade agar at 37°C for 48 h. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The number of teeth disinfected in each group was compared using Chi square test. RESULTS: 10% formalin, 3% hydrogen peroxide and vinegar were totally effective. The result was statistically significant with a Chi square value of 61.414 and P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Vinegar can be used as an effective disinfectant medium for extracted human teeth.