Comparison of Candida albicans Adhesion and Colonization on All-metal and Metal-ceramic Crowns

Introduction: Candidiasis is responsible for 85% of fungal infections of the oral cavity in humans. There is little data available on the adhesion of C. albicans to a variety of crowns. This study aimed to investigate the adhesion and colonization of C. albicans to two conventional crowns. Materials and Methods: In this in-vitro study, first 36 circular disks of two crowns were created: all-metal and metal-ceramic (18 for each crown). The disks were transferred to plates containing the suspensions 1 x 10(5) cfu/ml of C. albicans colonies. After 40, 80, and 120 minutes, the disks were rinsed in sterile normal saline and shaken at low speed to separate yeast cells. This suspension was cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar culture medium with pour plate method and was then counted. Differences were considered significant when p<0.05, using computer software SPSS version 18 for windows. Results: In all-metal and metal-ceramic samples, adhesion and colonization of C. albicans significantly increased during time (p<0.001). The lowest adhesion and colonization of C. albicans was observed in metal-ceramic crowns after 40 minutes, and the highest adhesion and colonization of C. albicans in metal-ceramic crowns after 120 minutes. Conclusion: The results showed that adhesion of C. albicans to all-metal crowns was significantly less than metal-ceramic crowns after 80 minutes and 120 minutes.