title: Antimicrobial Efficacy of Ten Commercially Available Herbal Dentifrices against Specific Oral Microflora - In Vitro Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine and compare the antimicrobial efficacy of ten commercially available herbal dentifrices against specific strains of oral microflora using a standard diffusion method at full strength and 1:1 dilution at 24 h.
  
  
  METHODS
  The standard strains of Streptococcus. mutans (ATCC 21293), Streptococcus sangius (MTCC 442), Actinomyces viscosus (ATCC 3268), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 2592), Streptococcus pyogenes (MTCC 442) and Candida albicans (ATCC 183) were obtained. Antimicrobial efficacy of the dentifrices was tested in triplicate, at full strength and 1:1 dilution with the sterile water using a standard diffusion method for 24 h at 37°C. The antimicrobial efficacy was tested by observing the zones of inhibition in millimeters surrounding disk containing the dentifrice. Mean standard deviation and standard error of mean of the inhibitory zones was calculated for each herbal dentifrice. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Danth Kanthi (DK) was the most effective against all the microorganisms producing larger zones of inhibition at 24 h (F.S - 40±1.5; 1:1 dilution - 40±2.71). Amar Premium (AP) also produced larger zones of inhibition against all microorganisms except S. aureus. Of all the dentifrices, least zones of inhibitions i.e., around 5 mm was observed against S. aureus by Amar Premium (AP) and Dabur Babool (DB) at 24 h.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that all herbal dentifrices exhibited antimicrobial activity against the selected oral microorganisms, with DK being the most effective. Hence, it can be inferred that herbal dentifrices can also be recommended like the conventional formulations.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital , Hyderabad, India .
authors.forename: S Sabiha
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Shaheen
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital , Hyderabad, India .
authors.forename: Padma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Professor & Head, Department of Microbiology, National Institute of Nutrition , ICMR, Hyderabad, India .
authors.lastname: Hemalatha
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital , Hyderabad, India .
authors.forename: Srikanth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital , Hyderabad, India .
authors.forename: Dolar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doshi
authors.affiliation: Professor & Head, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital , Hyderabad, India .
authors.forename: Suhas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.affiliation: Scientist, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Institute of Nutrition, ICMR , Hyderabad, India .
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumar
keywords: Dental caries; Microorganisms; Oral diseases; Oral hygiene; Periodontal diseases