Grouping, preparation and placement of medicaments

The remaining 180 dentine blocks were randomly assigned to 5 groups (n=36). 5% bamboo salt (Korea salt, Seoul, South Korea) (BS 5, group 1) and 10% bamboo salt (BS 10, group 2) were prepared by dissolving 5 g and 10 g of bamboo salt in 100 mL of distilled water respectively. 2% CHX (Anabond Stedman Pharma Research Ltd, Kanchipuram, India) and CH (Azure Laboratories Pvt Ltd, Kochi, India) mixed with distilled water served as groups 3 and 4 respectively. 25 g of methylcellulose (Chenchems, Chennai, India) was added as a thickening agent in groups 1-4. Dentine blocks filled with TS broth served as controls (TS, group 5). The respective ICMs were placed into the respective dentine block lumens using a plastic instrument. After placement of the medicament, the blocks were sealed with paraffin wax at both the ends, externally coated with paraffin wax and incubated in an aerobic environment at 37°C. These groups were further sub-divided into two subgroups (n=18 each), based on the time period of the medicament placement, namely 2 and 7 days (subgroups A and B). The medicaments were removed from the blocks after the prescribed time periods by placing the latter in an ultrasonic bath containing distilled water.