ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the antimicrobial activities of commonly used mouth rinses against different oral microorganisms. Methodology: Six commercially available mouth rinses (Colgate Total, Colgate Plax, Colgate Pro-argin, Oral-B Pro-expert, Listerine and Oderol) were used in this study. The antimicrobial activities of mouth rinses against Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175, Lactobacillus casei RSKK 900, L. acidophilus ATCC 11975 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 were evaluated by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration tests. Klorhex® was used as positive control. Experiments were repeated twice. Results: Colgate Total, Colgate Plax, Oral B Pro-expert and Oderol showed good antimicrobial activity against test microorganisms in comparison with Colgate Pro-argin and Listerine. Conclusion: Chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride containing mouth rinses were found more active than other products tested. Main motive of mouth rinses is removing the microorganisms from the mouth although their effectiveness depends on the formulation, concentration, quantity of ingredients and duration of rinsing.