Microbicidal efficacy of ozonated water against Candida albicans adhering to acrylic denture plates

Background/aims: Ozone is known to act as a strong antimicrobial agent against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. We examined the effect of ozonated water on Candida albicans on acrylic denture plate. Methods: The heat-cured acrylic resins were cultured with C. albicans. After treatment of flowing ozonated water, the number of attached C. albicans was counted. In some experiments, the test samples were treated with ozonated water in combination with ultrasonication. Results: After exposure to flowing ozonated water (2 or 4 mg/l) for 1 min, viable C. albicans cells were nearly nonexistent. The combination of ozonated water and ultrasonication had a strong effect on the viability of C. albicans adhering to the acrylic resin plates. There were no significant differences in antimicrobial activity against C. albicans between plates immersed in ozonated water with ultrasonication and those treated with commercially available denture cleaners. In addition, electron microscopic analysis revealed that small amounts of C. albicans remained on the plate after exposure to flowing ozonated water or immersion in ozonated water with ultrasonication. Conclusion: Our results suggest that application of ozonated water may be useful in reducing the number of C. albicans on denture plates.