35. Comparison of Efficacy of Alcohol Based Versus Non-Alcohol Based Antiseptic Mouthwashes in Growth Inhibition of Periodontal Disease and Dental Caries Causing Buccal Microbiota

Abstract

More than 700 species of bacteria are known to reside in the human buccal/oral cavity. Of these, less than 50% have been cultured successfully. Our purpose is to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of different antiseptic mouthwashes to inhibit growth. Culture-dependent methods will be used to isolate aerobic and facultative anaerobes as pure cultures from all parts of the oral cavities of five study subjects. Nine sites from five healthy subjects will be used to isolate pure bacterial cultures from the entire mouth, including the gums, tongue, teeth, and buccal cavity. The resulting pure cultures will be identified through Gram staining, selective and differential media, biochemical tests, motility and other lab assessments. Bacteria known and suspected to play an important role in periodontal disease (gingivitis) and dental caries (tooth decay) will be subject to sensitivity tests using discs impregnated with different brand named alcohol based and non-alcohol based antiseptic mouthwashes. Comparison of the efficacy of different mouthwashes will be based on the zone of bacterial growth inhibition and whether the active ingredients of mouthwashes are bactericidal or bacteriostatic to the mouth microbiota overall and to the bacteria implicated in dental disease in particular. Our results will be analyzed based on the diameter of the zone of bacterial growth inhibition and statistically compared to the efficacy of the different antiseptics. Our overarching goal: make applicable recommendations based on scientific reasoning on the best commercial mouthwashes to be used and to determine whether our findings mirror current ideology and research findings.