In-vitro antimicrobial effectiveness of herbal-based mouthrinses against oral microorganisms

Objective: To evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial effectiveness of commercial herbal-based mouthrinses against oral microorganisms. Methods: A total of three mouthrinses(OX, Pesona and Watsons) were tested for their antimicrobial activity against six oral organisms, Streptococcus mutans(S. mutans), Streptococcus sobrinus(S. sobrinus), Lactobacillus salivarius(L. salivarius), Staphylococcus aureus(S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa(P. aeruginosa) and Candida albicans(C. albicans) by standard agar-disk diffusion assay. Oradex mouthrinse containing 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate and sterile distilled water was served as positive and negative controls, respectively. Results: All mouthrinse formulations were effective in inhibiting the growth of S. mutans, S. sobrinus, L. salivarius and C. albicans. Among the tested mouthrinses, Pesona was the only effective mouthrinse against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, similar to Oradex mouthrinse. Pesona mouthrinse formulation appears to be as effective as Oradex mouthrinse formulation to kill S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference among the tested formulations regarding their antimicrobial activities(P > 0.05).Conclusions: Pesona was not the only herbal mouthrinse effective in inhibiting the growth of S. mutans, S. sobrinus, L. salivarius and C. albicans in vitro. All tested formulations were effective against those strains. Our findings may serve as a guide for selecting a kind of herbal mouthrinses as well as providing information to the dental professionals about the efficacy of these products.

Efficacy of xylitol and fluoride mouthrinses on salivary mutans streptococci

Objective:To evaluate the level of salivary Mutatis streptococci(MS) after rinsing with xylitol, fluoride,and a combination of xylitol and fluoride solutions,compared with distilled water. Methods:Eighty healthy 8-9 years old subjects with high level of MS(】 10~5 CFU/mL) were equally divided into 4 groups.Subjects rinsed their moutlis for 1 min with 10 mL of 0.05%(w/v) sodium fluoride(NaF),12.5%(w/v) xylitol or 0.05%(w/v) NoF + 12.5%(w/v) xylitol 3 times daily over 10 weeks.Distilled water rinsed group served as a control.Paraffin-stimulated whole saliva samples were collected at baseline,5 weeks,and 10 weeks after rinsing to determine the level of salivary MS by culturing on Mitis Salivarius Bacitracin agar.The statistical significance was calculated by Kruskol Wallis,Mann Whitney U,and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests at a significant level of P【 0.05.Results:Significant reductions in MS count were observed in subjects using 0.05%NaF + 12.5%xylitol over other groups within 5 weeks and after 10 weeks and 12.5%xylitol alone after 10 weeks compared with baseline.Conclusions:The present study provides evidence for the inhibitory effect of xylitol,used in combination with fluoride,delivered in the form of mouthrinse, on salivary MS in the group of schoolchildren.

Can eradication rate of gastric Helicobacter pylori be improved by killing oral Helicobacter pylori ?

AIM:To evaluate the influence of oral Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)on the success of eradication therapy against gastric H.pylori.METHODS:A total of 391 patients with dyspepsia were examined for H.pylori using the saliva H.pylori antigen test(HPS),13C-urea breath test(UBT),gastroscopy,and gastric mucosal histopathological detection.Another 40 volunteers without discomfort were subjected to HPS and13C-UBT,and served as the control group.The 233 patients who were13C-UBT+were enrolled in this study and divided into 4 groups.Patients who were HPS-and13C-UBT+(n=53)received triple therapy alone.Those who were both HPS+and13CUBT+(n=180)were randomly divided into 3 groups:(1)the O+G+t group which received triple therapy alone(n=53);(2)the O+G+tm group which received both triple therapy and mouthrinse treatment(n=65);and(3)the O+G+tmp group which received triple therapy,mouthrinse,and periodontal treatment(n=62).The HPS and13C-UBT were continued for 4 wk after completion of treatment,and the eradication rate of gastric H.pylori and the prevalence of oral H.pylori in the 4 groups were then compared.RESULTS:The eradication rates of gastric H.pylori in the O-G+t group,the O+G+tm group,and the O+G+tmp group were 93.3%,90.0%,and 94.7%respectively;all of these rates were higher than that of the O+G+t group(78.4%)[O-G+t group vs O+G+t group(P=0.039);O+G+tm group vs O+G+t group(P=0.092);O+G+tmp group vs O+G+t group(P=0.012);O+G+tm group vs O-G+t group(P=0.546);O+G+tmp group vs O-G+t group(P=0.765);O+G+tm group vs O+G+tmp group(P=0.924)].The eradication of gastric H.pylori was significantly improved using the combination of triple therapy,mouthrinse,and periodontal treatment.The eradication rates of gastric H.pylori in the peptic ulcer group,chronic atrophic gastritis group and control group were higher than in the duodenitis group and the superficial gastritis group.The prevalence rates of oral H.pylori in the O-G+t group,O+G+t group,O+G+tm group and O+G+tmp group following treatment were 0%,76.5%,53.3%,and 50.9%,respectively[O-G+t group vs O+G+t group(P<0.0001);O+G+tm group vs O+G+t group(P=0.011);O+G+tmp group vs O+G+t group(P=0.006);O+G+tm group vs O-G+t group(P<0.0001);O+G+tmp group vs O-G+t group(P<0.0001);O+G+tm group vs the O+G+tmp group(P=0.790)].Both mouthrinse and periodontal treatment significantly reduced the prevalence of oral H.pylori.CONCLUSION:Mouthrinse treatment alone or combined with periodontal treatment can,to some extent,reduce the prevalence of oral H.pylori and improve the eradication rate of gastric H.pylori.

In vivo biofilm formation on stainless steel bonded retainers during different oral health-care regimens

Retention wires permanently bonded to the anterior teeth are used after orthodontic treatment to prevent the teeth from relapsing to pre-treatment positions. A disadvantage of bonded retainers is biofilm accumulation on the wires, which produces a higher incidence of gingival recession, increased pocket depth and bleeding on probing. This study compares in vivo biofilm formation on single-strand and multi-strand retention wires with different oral health-care regimens. Two-centimetre wires were placed in brackets that were bonded to the buccal side of the first molars and second premolars in the upper arches of 22 volunteers. Volunteers used a selected toothpaste with or without the additional use of a mouthrinse containing essential oils. Brushing was performed manually. Regimens were maintained for 1 week, after which the wires were removed and the oral biofilm was collected to quantify the number of organisms and their viability, determine the microbial composition and visualize the bacteria by electron microscopy. A 6-week washout period was employed between regimens. Biofilm formation was reduced on single-strand wires compared with multi-strand wires; bacteria were observed to adhere between the strands. The use of antibacterial toothpastes marginally reduced the amount of biofilm on both wire types, but significantly reduced the viability of the biofilm organisms. Additional use of the mouthrinse did not result in significant changes in biofilm amount or viability. However, major shifts in biofilm composition were induced by combining a stannous fluoride- or triclosan-containing toothpaste with the mouthrinse. These shifts can be tentatively attributed to small changes in bacterial cell surface hydrophobicity after the adsorption of the toothpaste components, which stimulate bacterial adhesion to the hydrophobic oil, as illustrated for a Streptococcus mutans strain.