Antimicrobial effect of two fluoride-releasing adhesive tapes on biofilm.

Fluoride-releasing adhesive tapes have been developed as a new fluoride delivery agent. However, application as caries prevention agents remains underexplored. This study aimed at evaluating the antimicrobial activity of two fluoride-releasing adhesive tapes against biofilm. Two polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) tapes were investigated: (i) a fluoride-PVA (F-PVA) tape, (ii) a pullulan incorporated F-PVA (PF-PVA) tape. strains were cultured and treated with the tapes. Antimicrobial effects were evaluated using the agar diffusion test, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). F-PVA tapes showed higher inhibition-zone diameters than PF-PVA at 48 h and 72 h. However, there were no significant differences ( > 0.05) between the effects of F-PVA and PF-PVA. The bio-volume of and extracellular polymeric substances significantly decreased in the F-PVA tapes than in the PF-PVA tapes ( < 0.05). FE-SEM micrographs revealed less colonization in F-PVA. F-PVA exhibited better antimicrobial activity against than PF-PVA.