Antimicrobial efficacy of 0.8% Hyaluronic Acid and 0.2% Chlorhexidine against Porphyromonas gingivalis strains: An in-vitro study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present in-vitro study was to assess antimicrobial efficacy of 0.8% hyaluronic acid (HA) and 0.2% Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) against Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). METHODS: The study was performed between December 2018 and March 2019 at the College of Dentistry at the Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The P. gingivalis biofilms were formed and grown for 72 hours at 37°C under anaerobic conditions on glass slides coated with human saliva. The slides were individually positioned and exposed to 0.8% HA or 0.2% CHX. Therapeutically, the biofilms were divided into 3 groups as follows: (a) negative group; (b) 0.8% HA group and (c) 0.2% CHX group. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: In the 0.8% HA group, P. gingivalis CFUs/ml were significantly higher at baseline than at 24- (P<0.05), 48 (P<0.05) and 72 hours (P<0.05) intervals. In the 0.2% CHX group, P. gingivalis CFUs/ml were significantly higher at baseline than at 72 hours interval (P<0.05). In the CHX group, there was no difference in P. gingivalis CFUs/ml between baseline, 24- and 48-hours intervals. At 48- and 72-hours intervals, the P. gingivalis CFUs/ml were significantly higher in the 0.2% CHX group compared with the 0.8% HA group. CONCLUSION: In-vitro, 0.8% HA is more effective in reducing the P. gingivalis CFUs/ml compared with 0.2% CHX.