International Journal of Medical Laboratory

Background and Aims: Different Candida species, especially Candida albicans have been known as part of human oral cavity normal flora. Changes in the oral environment resulting from tooth loss or denture application can affect oral micro-flora. The general purpose of the current study was to determine Candida species occurrence rate in the oral cavity of denture wearer patients in comparison with those without denture.

Materials and Methods: A total 30 edentulous elderly with complete removable denture and 30 dentulous elderly people, who had been admitted for non-prosthetic treatments, were randomly selected in Yazd dentistry department. Their oral rinse samples were collected for mycological examination, and cultured on CHROMagar Candida plates. Frequency and density of Candida species isolated from both groups were compared using SPSS software with T-test, and differences were considered significant at p<0.05.

Results: Oral Candida species were isolated from 63.3% of edentulous people with dentures in comparison with 33.3% dentulous elderly persons (p=0.001). Non-albicans Candida species were isolated more frequently in denture wearers compared with the dentulous group (p=0.03). There was no significant difference between both groups in case of Candida albicans isolation (p=0.09).

Conclusions: The findings of the current study show that long-term use of dentures in edentulous denture users can result in a wide Candida species colonization, causing denture stomatitis.