Abstract
Purpose:
This work was aimed at evaluating four brands of
mouthwash marketed in Nigeria for their anticaries
activity.
Method:
The susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates
obtained from 30 patients having carious teeth to the
selected mouthwash was determined using the cup-plate
method. The zones of inhibition produced by the
mouthwash against the bacterial isolates were measured
to determine the degree of susceptibility.
Results:
The organisms isolated from the patients were
Staphylococccus aureus, Klebsiella sp, Streptococcus sp,
Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the
following proportions: 30, 27, 20, 17 and 7 %,
respectively. Anticaries evaluation revealed that 0.047
% thymol in ethanol displayed the highest degree of
anticaries activity against all the Streptococcal
species tested. Incorporation of preservatives in
mouthwashes may adversely affect their anticaries
activity as indicated by the fact that the preserved
mouthwash exhibited lower activity than the unpreserved
mouthwash.
Conclusion:
Anticaries activity is optimally achieved by using
appropriate mouthwash combinations as this prevents both
the initiation and progression of dental caries. The use
of preservatives in mouthwash formulations should be
done with caution as this may interfere with mouthwash
activity.
Keywords:
Mouthwash, Thymol, Anticaries activity, Bacterial
isolates
