Effect of Silver Diamine Fluoride on Candida Aalbicans -Associated with Early Childhood Caries

Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA

Effect of Silver Diamine Fluoride on Candida albicans -Associated with Early Childhood Caries Sarah Al kukash, PG-Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine Toshihisa Kawai, Ph.D., Professor, College of Dental Medicine Judith Chin, MS, Professor/Pediatric Residency Program Director, College of Dental Medicine Alireza Heidari, Ph.D., Lab Research Assist II, College of Dental Medicine Objective. This study was conducted to determine the effect of SDF on the growth of Candida albicans (C.albicans). Background. It is well established that Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF), a recently FDA-approved preventive agent for dental caries, exhibits a robust antibacterial effect on S.mutans. Although early childhood caries (ECC) affects children in socially disadvantaged populations, there is no cost-effective prevention strategy. Very interestingly, C.albicans has been implicated as one of the major contributing factors for the high prevalence of ECC. However, it remains elusive if SDF can also mediate an anti-fungal effect on C.albicans. Methods. SDF (38%) was applied to the paper disc placed on C.albicans cultured on the Mueller-Hinton agar plate (1×105/plate or 1×106/plate) by comparison to Fluoride varnish (5%), Fluconazole (25 µg/ml, positive control) and phosphate buffered saline (PBS: negative control). After incubation at 37°C in aerobic condition for 24 hours, the diameter of the inhibition zone around each disc was measured with a digital caliper. The experiment was performed in quadruplicates and repeated three times. A general linear model (ANOVA) with robust standard errors followed by Tukey’s HSD test was employed for statistical analysis. Results. SDF (38%) demonstrated a significantly higher inhibitory effect (PC.albicans growth compared to Fluconazole. However, fluoride varnish or PBS showed no inhibitory effect on the growth of C.albicans. Conclusions. This research, for the first time, showed the inhibitory effect of SDF on C.albicans growth, suggesting that SDF can not only suppress S.mutans, but also inhibit C.albicans, in arresting ECC. Grants. This study was funded by NSU HPD grant.