IADR Abstract Archives
TheraBreath Fresh Breath Rinse Selectively Kills Halitosis-Associated Microbial Species
Objectives: Oral halitosis refers to malodor originating in the oral cavity. Certain oral bacterial species produce volatile sulfur compounds, contributing to foul-smelling breath. Oral care company TheraBreath has developed a product (Fresh Breath Oral Rinse) marketed specifically for halitosis. Our goal was to investigate the potential efficacy of this product by testing its effects on oral microbes in vitro and on an oral microbial community.
Methods: The activity against 10 oral species was investigated. Cultures were grown overnight, spun down, washed twice, then resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Listerine, or the test product. Aliquots were collected, spun down, washed, and plated to calculate CFU/ml at each time point. The effect of the product on the oral microbial community was also investigated. A saliva-derived community was cultured for 24h in 2% oxygen, spun down, washed, and resuspended in PBS, Listerine, or the test product. At each time point, an aliquot was collected, washed, spun down, and re-grown in fresh media for 24h, at which time DNA was extracted and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed. MacQIIME and GraphPad Prism were used for analysis.
Results: The test product was effective at rapidly killing (>85% within 2-5m) Fusobacterium nucleatum, F. periodonticum, Tannerella forsythia, and Prevotella intermedia, and exhibited more gradual killing against Veillonella atypica and Streptococcus mutans. No effect was seen against Porphyromonas gingivalis, Candida albicans, S. gordonii, and S. sanguinis. The structure of the community was changed after 5m treatment while still maintaining its alpha diversity compared to control. A longer exposure (30m) resulted in less diversity as more species were removed from the community, but still maintained greater diversity than Listerine-treated samples.
Conclusions: TheraBreath’s Fresh Breath Oral Rinse can selectively kill certain halitosis-associated species while maintaining the species complexity of the oral community in vitro.
Methods: The activity against 10 oral species was investigated. Cultures were grown overnight, spun down, washed twice, then resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Listerine, or the test product. Aliquots were collected, spun down, washed, and plated to calculate CFU/ml at each time point. The effect of the product on the oral microbial community was also investigated. A saliva-derived community was cultured for 24h in 2% oxygen, spun down, washed, and resuspended in PBS, Listerine, or the test product. At each time point, an aliquot was collected, washed, spun down, and re-grown in fresh media for 24h, at which time DNA was extracted and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed. MacQIIME and GraphPad Prism were used for analysis.
Results: The test product was effective at rapidly killing (>85% within 2-5m) Fusobacterium nucleatum, F. periodonticum, Tannerella forsythia, and Prevotella intermedia, and exhibited more gradual killing against Veillonella atypica and Streptococcus mutans. No effect was seen against Porphyromonas gingivalis, Candida albicans, S. gordonii, and S. sanguinis. The structure of the community was changed after 5m treatment while still maintaining its alpha diversity compared to control. A longer exposure (30m) resulted in less diversity as more species were removed from the community, but still maintained greater diversity than Listerine-treated samples.
Conclusions: TheraBreath’s Fresh Breath Oral Rinse can selectively kill certain halitosis-associated species while maintaining the species complexity of the oral community in vitro.