Correlative antimicrobial assay of various foreign toothpaste against oral microbial isolates

The in-vitro antimicrobial assay of four (4) foreign toothpastes sold in Nigeria viz; Sensodyne®, Raiya®, Mentadent® and Colgate® were carried out using agar well diffusion method against eight (8) oral clinical isolates which include the strains of  Streptococcus mutans, Brahamella catarrhalis, Veillonella spp, Micrococcus luteus, Lactobacillus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Candida albicans. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS windows, by applying mean value, T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Post-hoc least significant differences (LSD) method (α = 0.05). The result showed that based on the mean diameter of the zone of microbial inhibition produced by the toothpaste in agar well diffusion method, Mentadent® showed maximum zone of inhibition against the entire test organisms with Streptococcus pneumoniae being the most inhibited (sig< 0.01) compared to all other toothpaste formulations. Colgate® gave the least antimicrobial activity, whereas Micrococcus luteus was the least inhibited among the eight (8) isolates. Although all the toothpaste selected for this study had antimicrobial properties, Mentadent® distinguish itself because of its improved formulation of 2 % zinc citrate. There is an urgent need for toothpaste manufacturers to periodically review their formulations in order to improve the oral health of its users.