Comparison of Antimicrobial Activity of Child Formula Dentifrices at different Concentrations: An in vitro Study

Antimicrobial Effect of Low-Fluoride Toothpastes Containing Polyphosphate and Polyols: An In Vitro Assessment of Inhibition Zones

This study evaluated the antimicrobial effect of toothpastes containing 200 ppm fluoride (200F), xylitol (X, 16%), erythritol (E, 4%), and sodium trimetaphosphate (TMP, 0.25%), alone or in different associations, against Streptococcus mutans (SM), Lactobacillus casei (LC), Actinomyces israelii (AI), and Candida albicans (CA). Suspensions of the micro-organisms were added to a BHI Agar medium. Five wells were made on each plate to receive toothpaste suspensions at different dilutions. Toothpastes containing no actives (placebo) or 1100 ppm F (1100F) were used as negative and positive controls. Two-way ANOVA and Tukey's HDS test were used (p < 0.05). For SM, the largest halo was for 200F+TMP at all dilutions, followed by the 200F+X+E toothpaste (p < 0.001). For LC, the overall trend showed that the polyols effectively inhibited microbial growth, and the association with the other compounds enhanced such effects (p < 0.001). For AI, a less-defined trend was observed. For CA, the experimental toothpaste (200F+X+E+TMP) was consistently more effective than the other treatments, followed by 200F+X+E (p < 0.001). The association of polyols and TMP in a low-fluoride toothpaste effectively reduced the growth of cariogenic micro-organisms (SM, CA, and LC), suggesting that this formulation could be an interesting alternative for children due to its low fluoride content.

Comparative evaluation of antibacterial efficacy of active oxygen containing versus other dentifrices against Streptococcus mutans count in children with early childhood caries: A clinico-microbiological study

Background

Fluoridated dentifrices have been used for the prevention of dental caries since ages. However, to avoid the risk of fluorosis, the use of newer nonfluoridated options in dentifrices has shown a great interest in reducing Streptococcus mutans (SM) in early childhood caries (ECC).

Aim

The study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of active oxygen (AO)-based dentifrice with amine fluoride (AF)-, sodium monofluorophosphate (SMP)-, herbal (HB)-, and tricalcium phosphate (TCP)-based dentifrices on SM count in children with ECC.

Materials and Methods

Two hundred and fifty children aged 3-6 years with def ≥4 were selected and randomly divided into five groups of 50 each, based on the type of dentifrices used; Group I: AO-based, Group II: TCP, Group III: SMP, Group IV: AF, and Group V: HB dentifrice, and were asked to brush twice daily for 15 days. The saliva samples were collected at baseline, and after 15 days, cultured for SM colonies count.

Results

Difference in colony-forming units (CFU)/ml between baseline and 15 days was highly significant in all the five groups (P < 0.001). Significant difference was observed in SM count after 15 days between Groups I and IV (P = 0.017), while nonsignificant differences were seen when compared with Groups II, III, and V (P = 0.975, 0.137, and 0.992).

Conclusions

All the dentifrices were efficacious in reducing SM count in children with ECC. Although AO dentifrice showed superior results when compared to SMP, TCP, and HB, it did not prove to be superior to AF.

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Commercially Available Low-fluoride and Fluoride-free Dentifrices for Children

Aim and objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the antimicrobial efficacy of low-fluoride and fluoride-free dentifrices against Streptococcus mutans.

Materials and methods

The antimicrobial efficacy of four commercially available low-fluoride child formula dentifrices and four fluoride-free dentifrices against S. mutans was determined using the agar diffusion test. Fifty microliters of various dilutions (1:1, 1:2, 1:4) of each dentifrice were inoculated on the assigned plates under aseptic conditions. Saline was taken as negative control and 0.2% chlorhexidine was considered as a positive control. The plates were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours and the zone of inhibition around the wells was measured.

Results

All the tested low-fluoride dentifrices showed varying degrees of antimicrobial activity against S. mutans with F2 (Pediflor®) and F4 (Cheerio™) showing greater zones of inhibition when compared to F1 (Colgate®kids) and F3 (Kidodent). When the mean zones of inhibition produced by non-fluoridated dentifrices were compared with that of fluoridated dentifrices, no statistically significant difference was noted between NF1, NF3, NF4, and F2, F4. The antibacterial activity of F1 and F3 was significantly lower when compared to others. However, no antibacterial activity was noted with NF2.

Conclusion

Both low-fluoride and fluoride-free formulations tested in the study exhibited antimicrobial activity against S. mutans. In very young children where the risk of fluorosis is of concern, fluoride-free formulations can be considered as safe alternatives to fluoride formulations.

Clinical significance

Several dentifrices, both fluoride-free and low-fluoride formulations, are being aggressively marketed for young children. Though these toothpastes are being very commonly used by young parents for their infants and toddlers, there is very little published literature available on their antimicrobial activity and this study focuses on addressing this.

How to cite this article

Reddy D, Selvan A, Paul ST, et al. Antimicrobial Efficacy of Commercially Available Low-fluoride and Fluoride-free Dentifrices for Children. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(2):183–186.