title: Direct and transdentinal (indirect) antibacterial activity of commercially available dental gel formulations against Streptococcus mutans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the direct and transdentinal (indirect) agar diffusion antibacterial activity of different commercially available antibacterial dental gel formulations against Streptococcus mutans.
  
  
  METHODS
  The commercially available dental gel formulations were Corsodyl® (COG, 1% chlorhexidine), Cervitec® (CEG, 0.2% chlorhexidine + 0.2% sodium fluoride), Forever Bright® (FOB, aloe vera), Gengigel® (GEG, 0.2% hyaluronic acid), 35% phosphoric acid gel and distilled water (control). Direct agar diffusion was performed by isolating three wells from brain-heart infusion agar plates using sterile glass pipettes attached to a vacuum pump and adding 0.1 ml of the gels to each well. Transdentinal (indirect) agar diffusion was performed by applying gel to 0.2- and 0.5-mm-thick human dentin discs previously etched with phosphoric acid and rinsed with distilled water. Zones formed around the wells and the dentin discs were measured and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests with Bonferroni correction (p < 0.01).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Direct agar diffusion tests showed significant differences among all gel formulations (p < 0.01) except for COG and CEG (p > 0.01). COG and CEG exhibited higher antibacterial effects compared to FOB and GEG (p < 0.01) in both direct and transdentinal (indirect) testing procedures. GEG did not show any antimicrobial activity in transdentinal (indirect) testing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Commercially available dental gels inhibited S. mutans, which may indicate their potential as cavity disinfectants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey. tamertuzuner@gmail.com
authors.forename: Tamer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tüzüner
authors.forename: Ayça Tuba
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Ulusoy
authors.forename: Ozgul
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Baygin
authors.forename: Gorkem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yahyaoglu
authors.forename: Ilkay
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yalcin
authors.forename: Kurtulus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buruk
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nicholson
mesh_terms: D000504:Aloe; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003804:Dentin / Q000187:drug effects; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects*; D013943:Thymol / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005782:Gels; D010936:Plant Extracts; C079161:chlorhexidine, thymol drug combination; D013943:Thymol; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D002710:Chlorhexidine