Comparative Evaluation of Oral Candida albicans Carriage in Children with and without Dental Caries: A Microbiological in vivo Study

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the presence of Candida albicans in extensive carious lesions before and after treatment of the carious lesions and to evaluate the carriage of Candida albicans in children with and without caries. Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 60 childrens who were divided into two groups: Experimental group (group 1) and controlled group (group 2). Each group was further divided into 3 subgroups according to the dentition as: Group A (Deciduous), group B (Mixed) and group C (Permanent). Swab samples for mycological studies were collected from the dorsum of the tongue, vestibular sulcus and peak of the palatal vault. All samples were cultured directly on SDA plate (Sabouraud's dextrose agar). Number of Candida colonies was determined by counting colony forming unit on SDA plates. Further identification of Candida albicans was done by germ-tube test and corn-meal agar. Result: Overall prevalence of Candida albicans carriage was significantly higher and mean value of Candida albicans CFU (colony forming unit) was remarkably higher in group 1 (experimental group) as compare to group 2 (control group). Significant reduction in the frequency and mean value of Candida albicans CFU/plate was seen in children after treatment of carious lesions. Conclusion: This study supports the active role of Candida species in dental caries. Hence, Candida albicans may play an important role as a risk factor for dental caries. It was also seen that the oral environment stabilization procedures were able to reduce Candida albicans counts. Thus, these procedures can be considered efficient in the reduction of caries risk. How to cite this article: Srivastava B, Bhatia HP, Chaudhary V, Aggarwal A, Singh AK, Gupta N. Comparative Evaluation of Oral Candida albicans Carriage in Children with and without Dental Caries: A Microbiological in vivo Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2012;5(2):108-112.