Commercial mouthwashes are more effective than azole antifungals against Candida albicans biofilms in vitro.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the activity of prescription and over-the-counter antimicrobial compounds against planktonic and biofilm forms of Candida albicans isolated from cases of oral candidiasis in vitro.

Study Design: The efficacy of azoles, polyenes, an echinocandin, and 4 over-the-counter mouthwashes were tested against C. albicans-derived planktonic and biofilm cells.

Results: Planktonic cells were shown to be highly sensitive to all of the antifungal agents tested. Sessile cells were highly resistant to azoles (≥128 mg/L) but equally sensitive to caspofungin and short treatments with Corsodyl, Listerine, and Oraldene.

Conclusions: Although C. albicans is sensitive to azole antifungal agents in planktonic form, it is highly resistant within the biofilm. The good efficacy of the over-the-counter mouthwashes against candidal biofilms in vitro suggests that clinical trials should now be designed to establish their role in the clinical management of oral candidal infections.