Inhibition and Disruption Properties of Chlorhexidine Gluconate on Single and Multispecies Oral Biofilms

Background: Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) is the most common antimicrobial agent used against oral pathogens, however information on its ability to inhibit and disrupt anaerobic single and multispecies biofilms is relatively unknown..Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of CHX for its biofilm inhibition and disruption properties using crystal violet assay..Materials and Methods:: Biofilm assays were carried out on single and multispecies of four oral pathogens: Streptococcus (S.) mutans, Fusobacterium (F.) nucleatum, Aggregatibacter (A.) actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas (P.) gingivalis. .Results: Streptococcus mutans, Fusobacterium nucleatum and multi-species biofilm formation were inhibited in more than 90% of cases at concentrations of 3-12 mg/L. CHX exhibited strong disruptive activity (> 65%) on one-day old biofilms of A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis..Conclusions: In conclusion, CHX was a high effective biofilm inhibitor on S. mutans, F. nucleatum and multispecies biofilms but had a minimal effect on P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans. Conversely, CHX showed disruptive properties on late colonizers in single species biofilms but not on early colonizers and multispecies biofilms.