मौखिक स्वास्थ्य और दंत प्रबंधन

अमूर्त

Candida spp. Colonizing the Curious Lesions of Patients with Dental Carries: A Case Study from Mwanza Tanzania

Bernard Okamo, Magesa Malaja, Vitus Silago, Stephen E Mshana and Martha F Mushi*

Introduction: Candida spp. has the ability to utilize dentinal structures like collagen for growth due to their ability to producing acidogenic and aciduric conditions. This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with Candida spp. colonization of curious lesions among patients with dental caries attending Bugando Medical Centre and Sekou Toure Regional Referral Hospital, in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Methods: A cross-sectional hospital based study was conducted between March and July 2017 among patients with dental carries attending a dental clinic at Bugando Medical Centre and Sekou Toure Regional Referral Hospital. Sample was taken from the curious lesions using a sterile wooden toothpick and processed to isolate Candida spp. Data were analyzed using STATA version 13.0 software following the objectives of the study. p value of less than 0.05 at 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 259 patients with a median age of 25 years were enrolled. The majority were from rural areas 61.4% (159/259) and 91.1% (236/259) reported cleaning their teeth at least once a day. Candida spp. were detected in 49 (18.9%) patients with the majority of them being Candida albicans 39 (79.6%). On univariate logistic regression analysis; increase in age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04, p=0.018), not having the habit of cleaning teeth (OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.01-6.41, p=0.042) and having a history of being diagnosed with dental carries (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.03-3.92, p=0.039) were found to be associated with Candida spp. colonization.

Conclusion: Patients suffering from dental caries with poor oral hygiene were significantly more found to be colonized by Candida spp. posing them at high risk of developing severe cariogenic lesions. More studies to evaluate the pathogenic potential of these Candida albicans are highly recommended.