Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Some Commonly Used Toothpastes Against Some Pathogenic Microorganisms

The efficacy of any toothpaste lies in its ability to eliminate pathogenic oral microflora. This study was aimed at evaluating the in vitro antimicrobial activity of five commonly used toothpastes (Oral B, CloseUp, Macleans, Colgate and Dabur Herbal) against some selected clinical isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyrogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coliand Candida albicans).The antimicrobial activity was assessed by measuring the zones of inhibition by well diffusion method. Further laboratory experiment was carried out to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the toothpastes on the different organisms. The results suggested that all the toothpastes had antimicrobial activity against the selected organisms and the activity of the various toothpastes increased with increase in concentration. Oral B gave the highest zone of inhibition (25.0mm). The gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylooccusaureus)were found to be more susceptible to the different concentrations of the different toothpaste than the gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli). Bacillus subtiliswas the most susceptible while Pseudomonas aeruginosawas the least susceptible organism.