An in vitro antimicrobial activity of ten Iranian-made toothpastes

Antimicrobial agents have been used as a chemotherapeutic agent to improve oral health. This in vitro study was carried out to determine the antimicrobial activity of ten Iranian-made toothpastes against commonly found bacteria in the oral cavity.

The microorganisms used in this study were Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguis, Actinomyces viscosus and Candida albicans. Sterile discs impregnated with 10 Iranian-made toothpastes; Paveh, Saviz, Latifeh II, Bath, Darugar II, Darugar I, Close up, Tage, Pooneh III and Nasim, which were separately used on agar plates. Crest Cavity Protection toothpaste and Sterile pyrogenfree distilled water were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The samples were tested in triplicate, at full strength, 1:1 and 1:3 dilutions. Inhibition zones were measured in millimeter after 48 hr. The data were analyzed by the ANOVA and t-test.

All tested toothpastes demonstrated an antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of Bath on S. mutans, Paveh on S. sanguis, Paveh, Saviz, Latifeh III and Darugar II on C. albicans were similar to the activity of Crest Cavity Protection. The antimicrobial activity of Pooneh III and Nasim on S. mutans, Bath on S. sanguis and A. viscosus, and Bath and Pooneh III on C. albicans were significantly higher and the others were significantly lower than the positive control. While, the activity of Crest Cavity Protection was the same as Pooneh III, it showed a weaker activity compared with Bath.

Apart from Bath and Pooneh III, the other Iranian-made toothpastes tested in this study showed a lower antimicrobial activity compared to Crest Cavity Protection.