Effects of a chlorhexidine gluconate-containing mouthwash on the vitality and antimicrobial susceptibility of in vitro oral bacterial ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Oral bacterial microcosms, established using saliva inocula from three individuals, were maintained under a feast-famine regime within constant-depth film fermenters. Steady-state communities were exposed four times daily, postfeeding, to a chlorhexidine (CHX) gluconate-containing mouthwash (CHXM) diluted to 0.06% (wt/vol) antimicrobial content. The microcosms were characterized by heterotrophic plate counts and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). CHXM caused significant decreases in both total anaerobe and total aerobe/facultative anaerobe counts (P < 0.05), together with lesser decreases in gram-negative anaerobes. The degree of streptococcal and actinomycete inhibition varied considerably among individuals. DGGE showed that CHXM exposure caused considerable decreases in

SUBMITTER: McBain AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC169085 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature