Sharare Karimi, Mohamad Hasan Akhavan Karbassi, Abbas Jafari, Hakimeh Ahadian

Abstract

Aim and Objectives:Candida species are the most prevalent commensal fungi of human mouth.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, a sum of 60 adult male, who referred to the oral medicine department of ShahidSadoughi University of medical sciences, participated . The health status of all subjects was verified by a meticulous interview and questionnaire, so that none of them had any systemic or local risk factor for candidiasis lesions, After a 90-minute fasting period, unstimulated whole saliva samples were collected and send to the laboratory. Then samples were sterilized and stored at -20º C. All samples were tested by Broth microdilution method to find out the degree of Candida colonization. Resulted data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software and the tests were applied are T-test, Chi-Square and Spearman correlation test. Results: Fifteen cases out of 30 smoker males and 11 cases out of 30 nonsmoker ones had positive colonization of Candida species. But the difference between two groups was not statistically significant (Pvalue: 0.297) same as the differences in regard to colony counts and type of cultured subspecies (Pvalue: 0.746). However, this did not keep an increasing linear correlation as the colony counts dropped in heavy smokers.Conclusion:Candida colonization may be influenced in an exaggerated manner, in response to a stimuli like smoking. Lower colony count in heavy smokers may be related to more keratinized mucosa which traps Candida cells. In this regard, swab samples are recommended for further investigations.