This study aimed to investigate the antifungal efficacy of different types of toothpaste and
some antiseptic solutions with varying concentrations against yeast isolated from the oral cavity
of radiated patients suffering from head and neck cancer in radiotherapy unit in Suez Canal
University teaching's hospital, Egypt. Eight different species of yeast were isolated
taxonomically, assigned to 1 phylum, two classes, one order, and three families and identified
phenotypically. The antifungal activity of five kinds of toothpaste and three antiseptic solutions
were investigated by agar well diffusion method against the eight isolated yeasts namely:
Candida glabrata, C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. kefyr, C. guilliermondii, C. parapsilosis,
Dipodascus geotrichum and Geotrichum beigelii and expressed as the value of the clear zone
diameter, however, Their activity was expressed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).
Results showed that toothpaste no 1, 3, 4 and 5 were effective against all tested taxa by variable
inhibitory degrees. However, no. 2 showed efficacy only against C. glabrata, C. guilliermondii,
and C. parapsilosis, Antiseptic solution no 1 showed the highest efficacy against all tested
species except C. kefyr while no. 2 was effective against all the tested species except two taxa
and finally no. 3 exhibited good antifungal activity against all the tested taxa. In conclusion, we
recommended the use of toothpaste contained sodium monofluorophosphate, or sodium fluoride,
as an active component followed by a mouthwash which contained Chlorohexidine or
Cetylpridinium or miswak as active components to prevent colonization and development of oral
candidiasis, especially in cancer patients.