Comparative Evaluation of Antifungal Efficacy of Different Pediatric Toothpastes on <i>Candida albicans</i> in Children with and without Early Childhood Caries

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the antifungal efficacy of four commercially available pediatric toothpaste on Candida albicans in children with and without early childhood caries (ECC). Materials and methods: A total of 40 children were randomly divided into two groups; group I: ECC and group II: non-ECC, with 20 children in each group. After that, sterile cotton swabs were used to collect plaque samples from the tooth surface, and the samples were inoculated on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and incubated for 72 hours. After the growth was confirmed, four commercially available dentifrices were divided into four subgroups Kidodent®, Cheerio gel®, Pediflor®, and Colgate kids toothpaste® were titrated to a 1:1 dilution to identify the antifungal activity of C.albicans. Four wells, each of 4 mm in depth and 6 mm in diameter, were punched on the agar surface and filled with 0.02 mL of dentifrice solution using a microtiter pipette. Agar plates were incubated at 37°C for 48 hours, and the mean diameter of the zone of inhibition was measured and recorded. The collected data were tabulated and statistically analyzed using the chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. Results: Kidodent® in the ECC group had a maximum zone of inhibition (35.15 ± 5.75) with a significant difference when compared with Pediflor® and Colgate kids® (p p > 0.001). Conclusion: Kidodent® toothpaste showed maximum antifungal efficacy for the ECC group and Cheerio gel® toothpaste showed maximum antifungal efficacy for the non-ECC group.

Keywords

• <i>candida albicans</i>
• dentifrice
• early childhood caries