The Antibacterial and Antifungal Capacity of Eight Commercially Available Types of Mouthwash against Oral Microorganisms: An In Vitro Study

This work aimed to evaluate and compare the antimicrobial actions and effects over time of eight types of mouthwash, based on the impact of chlorhexidine on the main microorganisms that are responsible for oral diseases: Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. The mouthwashes’ antimicrobial action was determined in terms of their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC), and time-kill curves at different contact times (10 s, 30 s, 60 s, 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, and 60 min), against selected oral microorganisms. All the mouthwashes showed a notable effect against C. albicans (MICs ranging from 0.02% to 0.09%), and higher MIC values were recorded with P. aeruginosa (1.56% to >50%). In general, the mouthwashes showed similar antimicrobial effects at reduced contact times (10, 30, and 60 s) against all the tested microorganisms, except with P. aeruginosa, for which the most significant effect was observed with a long time (15, 30, and 60 min). The results demonstrate significant differences in the antimicrobial actions of the tested mouthwashes, although all contained chlorhexidine and most of them also contained cetylpyridinium chloride. The relevant antimicrobial effects of all the tested mouthwashes, and those with the best higher antimicrobial action, were recorded by A—GUM(®) PAROEX(®)A and B—GUM(®) PAROEX(®), considering their effects against the resistant microorganisms and their MIC values.