Effect of Eugenol on Candida Albicans Adherence to Denture Polymers

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of eugenol and some denture cleansers in reducing the adherence of Candida albicans to denture base polymers. Methods: Three denture base polymers (Lucitone®, Impact® and Eclipse®) were selected and 60 disc-shaped specimens (6.0 mm diameter, 1.0 mm thickness) were fabricated for each denture base polymer following the manufacturer's instructions. After one week storage in distilled water, specimens were coated in artificial saliva for 30 min before soaked in C. albican suspension (1 × 106 cell/mL) for 90 min at 37 °C. They were randomly divided into five test groups (n=12); for each group, 3 specimens were taken out as baseline for initial number of C. albicans adherence and the remaining 9 specimens were immersed in cleanser solution. Specimens were washed with PBS and sonicated, and 0.5 ml solutions were transferred to agar plate and were incubated in the dark at 37˚C. The immersion were carried out in 2% eugenol for 3 min and for 10 min, Polident® for 3 min, Steradent® for 10 min, and in distilled water (control). Colony forming units (CFU/mL) of C. albican were determined after 48h. Statistical analysis using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney were performed at 0.05 level of significance. Results: The highest value of C. albicans initial adherence was observed with Lucitone® (24±4 CFU/mL) while the lowest was with Impact® (20+3 CFU/mL). There was significant reduction in CFU/mL after immersion in all cleansers and eugenol solutions (p<0.05) when compared with baseline. Conclusion: Eugenol and selected denture cleansers were effective in reducing the number of C. albicans adherence to denture polymers.