Due to the increase in life expectancy, new treatments have emerged which, although palliative, provide individuals with a better quality of life. Artificial saliva is a solution that contains substances that moisten a dry mouth, thus mimicking the role of saliva in lubricating the oral cavity and controlling the existing normal oral microbiota. This study aimed to assess the influence of commercially available artificial saliva on biofilm formation by Candida albicans. Artificial saliva I consists of carboxymethylcellulose, while artificial saliva II is composed of glucose oxidase, lactoferrin, lysozyme and lactoperoxidase. A control group used sterile distilled water. Microorganisms from the oral cavity were transferred to Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Colonies of Candida albicans were suspended in a sterile solution of NaCl 0.9%, and standardisation of the suspension to 106 cells/mL was achieved. The acrylic discs, immersed in artificial saliva and sterile distilled water, were placed in a 24-well plate containing 2 mL of Sabouraud Dextrose Broth plus 5% sucrose and 0.1 mL aliquot of the Candida albicans suspension. The plates were incubated at 37°C for 5 days, the discs were washed in 2 mL of 0.9% NaCl and placed into a tube containing 10 mL of 0.9% NaCl. After decimal dilutions, aliquots of 0.1 mL were seeded on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and incubated at 37°C for 48 hours. Counts were reported as CFU/mL (Log10). A statistically significant reduction of 29.89% (1.45 CFU/mL) of Candida albicans was observed in saliva I when compared to saliva II (p = 0.002, considering p≤0.05).

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of photodynamic therapy with erythrosine and rose bengal using a light-emitting diode (LED) on planktonic cultures of S. mutans. Ten S. mutans strains, including nine clinical strains and one reference strain (ATCC 35688), were used. Suspensions containing 10(6) cells/mL were prepared for each strain and were tested under different experimental conditions: a) LED irradiation in the presence of rose bengal as a photosensitizer (RB+L+); b) LED irradiation in the presence of erythrosine as a photosensitizer (E+L+); c) LED irradiation only (P-L+); d) treatment with rose bengal only (RB+L-); e) treatment with erythrosine only (E+L-); and f) no LED irradiation or photosensitizer treatment, which served as a control group (P-L-). After treatment, the strains were seeded onto BHI agar for determination of the number of colony-forming units (CFU/mL). The results were submitted to analysis of variance and the Tukey test (p < 0.05). The number of CFU/mL was significantly lower in the groups submitted to photodynamic therapy (RB+L+ and E+L+) compared to control (P-L-), with a reduction of 6.86 log10 in the RB+L+ group and of 5.16 log10 in the E+L+ group. Photodynamic therapy with rose bengal and erythrosine exerted an antimicrobial effect on all S. mutans strains studied.