Clorox™, Peridex™ and 3 Commercial Denture Cleansers as Disinfecting Agents: In Vitro Comparison

It is important to disinfect dentures contaminated with C. albicans. Objectives: Determine the lowest concentrations of Clorox™ and Peridex™ that eliminate the biofilm metabolic activity (BMA) of C. albicans and to determine the effectiveness of solutions of three commercial denture cleansers against BMA of C. albicans. Methods: Four strains of C.albicans (3153A, SC5314, 6455, 6309), isolated from denture stomatitis patients, were used to form biofilms on 96-well microtiter plates. After biofilms were formed, Clorox™ was added in serial dilutions with distilled water (from 1:1 to 1:512) and Peridex™ was added in concentrations of 100%, 50% and 25%. The plates were incubated for 30 minutes. One tablet of Efferdent™, Polident™ for Partials and Polident™ for Dentures were each dissolved in 200ml increments of sterile water and added to two additional groups. One group was incubated for 30 minutes, the other for approximately 18 hours. Positive and negative control groups were used for each test group. XTT Spectrophotometric Reduction Assay was performed to measure the metabolic activity of the biofilms. This assay is reliant upon the mitochondrial dehydrogenases of the live cells to convert an XTT tetrazolium salt into a reduced formazon colored product. This method is stable, accurate and reproducible. Results: Clorox™ concentrations of 1:32 and stronger resulted in 100% decrease in BMA of all strains. Concentrations of 1:16 and stronger completely removed the biofilms. Peridex™ concentrations of 50% and stronger resulted in 100% decrease in BMA with three of four strains. Polident™ for dentures resulted in a 100% decrease in BMA with three of four strains after 18 hours exposure. Conclusion: Clorox™(1:32) and Peridex™(50%) are effective in rapidly eliminating the metabolic activity of C. albicans biofilms.