Comparing the Antifungal Effect of Sodium Hypochlorite, Deconex, Zataria multiflora, and Artemisia aucheri on the Surface of Acrylic Resin Dentures: An Experimental Study

Background and purpose: In recent decades, various efforts have been made to replace synthetic materials with natural disinfectants that have less disadvantages and lead to similar or even better results. The present study was conducted to compare the effect of Artemisia aucheri and Zataria multiflora as natural disinfectants with those of Deconex and sodium hypochlorite as two industrial disinfectants on Candida albicans. Materials and methods: This experimental study was conducted in 128 resin acrylic dentures. After the inoculation of C. albicans on each denture, they were divided into four groups, each containing 32 dentures. Deconex, Sodium hypochlorite, Artemisia aucheri, and Zataria multiflora were administered in each group in four densities (0.1, 0.01, 0.001, and 0.0001). The data were analyzed in SPSS V19 applying t-test.  Results: The four disinfectants were applied for 10 and 60 min. Deconex showed the highest disinfection effect on samples (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the effect of Artemisia aucheri and Zataria multiflora after 60 min and 10 min. However, it was found that the potency of Artemisia aucheri and Zataria multiflora increased after 60 min. Conclusion: Current findings showed chemical disinfectants with higher potency in short-time intervals, compared to the natural ones. But, after a longer period of time, Artemisia aucheri and Zataria multiflora exerted similar effects as those of the synthetic disinfectants.