Antimicrobial Efficacy of Probiotic and Herbal Oral Rinses against Candida albicans in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
BACKGROUND
A growing number of dentists are embracing the philosophy that natural agents are better for children's oral health. Knowledge of probiotics on host immune system has entered a new phase of research, and progression in this field is likely to offer novel means by modulating host immunity for prevention and treatment of a wide variety of oral diseases.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the antimicrobial efficacy of probiotics in reducing salivary Candida albicans counts with commonly used antimicrobial agents like 0.2% chlorhexidine and herbal rinse.


METHODS
A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 subjects aged between 6 and 14 years, for a period of 9 months. The subjects were randomly divided into three groups comprising 20 subjects in each group. Three oral agents were administered twice daily for a maximum period of 1 week. Candida albicans counts were recorded before and after intervention and the results were submitted for statistical analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 software.


RESULTS
The change in mean log10 colony-forming unit (CFU)/ ml of C. albicans in groups A to C was 0.43 ± 0.72, 0.68 ± 1.05 and 0.22 ± 0.66 CFU/ml respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Data obtained from the study demonstrated that probiotic rinse was equally effective as 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate rinse in reducing C. albicans counts after 1 week of intervention. Herbal oral rinse was least effective. Probiotic oral rinses have opened new horizons in improvement of oral health by maintaining healthy ecosystem. However, a longitudinal study with larger sample size needs to be undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic effects of probiotics and herbal agents. How to cite this article: Mishra R, Tandon S, Rathore M, Banerjee M. Antimicrobial Efficacy of Probiotic and Herbal Oral Rinses against Candida albicans in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(1):25-30.
Assistant Professor, Department of Dentistry, UP Rural Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Saifai, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Rahul
R
Mishra
Ex-Dean, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Babu Banarasi Das College of Dental Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Shobha
S
Tandon
Professor, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Babu Banarasi Das College of Dental Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Monika
M
Rathore
Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology, Babu Banarasi Das College of Dental Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Molay
M
Banerjee
Candida albicans; Chlorhexidine digluconate; Dental caries; Herbal oral agent; Probiotics.