Effect of Silver Diamine Fluoride on Reducing Candida albicans Adhesion on Dentine

Candida albicans is the most frequent pathogenic fungus in oral cavities. It adheres to dental tissues as part of dental plaques and contributes to caries formation.

To evaluate the effect of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) on reducing C. albicans adhesion on dentine surfaces.

Flat dentine surfaces were prepared from bovine dental disks, and samples were divided into three groups. The first and second groups were pretreated for 3 min with 299 mM or 2.99 M SDF, respectively, and the third group (control) did not undergo any SDF pretreatment. All samples were washed, inoculated with C. albicans suspension onto their dentine surface, incubated at 30 °C for 6 h, and washed again to remove any nonadherent cells. The abundance of adherent cells was investigated using colorimetric and real-time polymerase chain reaction approaches. Subsequently, the morphological changes in C. albicans by pretreatment with SDF were observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

SDF inhibited candidal growth at concentrations as low as 2.99 µM. Dentine disks pretreated with 299 mM or 2.99 M SDF displayed significantly fewer adhered cells as compared with the control group. Upon pretreatment with SDF, SEM images showed severe morphological changes in the cellular walls, in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting a fungicidal effect of SDF against the yeast.

SDF should be considered for clinical applications aimed at inhibiting dental plaque caused by C. albicans, particularly in children and elderly individuals.