RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CANDIDA-ALBICANS AND DENTURE STOMATITIS - A CLINICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDY

A study was done on 52 upper denture wearers, randomly selected among the residents of two nursing-homes. The results show that the prevalence of Candida albicans in the denture is significantly higher than that in the mucosa. It was also possible to establish a significant relationship between the clinical patterns and the microbiological findings. A healthy mucosa does not present C. albicans, whereas a diffuse denture stomatitis more often presents the yeast both in the mucosa and in the denture. Finally, diffuse erythema is correlated to continuous denture-wearing, while there is not significant correlation between healthy mucosa and type I denture stomatitis and denture-wearing habits.