A. Roy, A. Mukherjee, A. Chowdhury, A. Maiti, S. Bagchi, B. Pati, N. Roy Chattopadhyay
ABSTRACT
The mouth cavity of a human being harbors a mixed population of various microorganisms, bacteria and fungi being the major categories. These microbes can produce harmful effects to the teeth and the inner wall of the oral cavity, producing carries and cavities in teeth, corrosion in the walls, and bad breath. Various cleaning formulations (toothpastes and mouthwashes) are available in the markets which claim for 12-hours protection after brushing with the specific formulation. Here we compare the effectiveness of various formulations with respect to time passed after brushing. We also study the mechanical effects of food and drink intake over the microbial load. The results show that different chemical formulations do not affect the microbial load very distinctly. Rather, the mechanical activities of brushing and intake of food and drink helps to control the load of microbial flora in the oral cavity of humans.
Keywords: Oral flora, toothpaste, mechanical cleaning.