The study of mouthwashes’ effect on oral microbiota

Relevance. Mouthwashes occupy a special place among the oral hygiene products range for their wide prevalence and high effectiveness. At the same time, their unreasonable use can lead to an oral microbial imbalance for the pronounced antimicrobial activity of the mouthwashes.

Aim. To evaluate the effect of mouthwashes with various preservative systems on the normal oral microbiota quantity and to assess the possible risk of dysbiotic changes if used regularly for prevention purposes.

Material and methods. The study examined the antimicrobial properties of nine experimental samples of mouth-washes developed for home oral care. The study included 110 healthy volunteers and collected 2 ml of unstimulated saliva from the subjects before toothbrushing and 5, 30, 60 and 180 minutes after rinsing with a test product for 1.5-2 minutes. The microbiological laboratory plated saliva samples and counted the number of colony-forming units. The results were statistically processed.

Results. The analysis of the average microbiota levels for all the products at various time points revealed that the number of viable bacteria in the oral cavity decreased by no more than 1.5 orders of magnitude, except for 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash. This decrease is short-term, and for most mouthwashes, there were no statistically significant differences in the number of colony-forming units in 60-180 minutes compared to the baseline.

Conclusion. All the tested samples of mouthwashes do not significantly affect the microbiota and, consequently, can be recommended for daily home oral care practice.

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