IADR Abstract Archives
Oral hygiene in newborns and Candida spp colonization
Objectives: This is a randomized clinical trial aiming to evaluate the influence of oral hygiene in newborns before tooth eruption on Candida spp colonization and on oral candidiasis occurrence.
Methods: The study included pair of mothers and their babies born in a maternity hospital in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The mother/baby pairs were selected in the hospital and randomly assigned to two groups: Group I (mothers instructed to clean the baby’s oral cavity using gauze and filtered water once a day) and Group II (mothers instructed not to clean the baby’s oral cavity before tooth eruption). In the hospital, a researcher exposed the instructions to the mothers allocated to each group. One month after the baby’s birth, the newborns were evaluated in their homes, where a clinical oral examination was performed to assess the presence of candidiasis, and also saliva was collected for Candida spp identification and quantification. Questionnaires addressing aspects related to the baby and the family were also applied. Data analysis included the Mann Whitney and Spearman correlation tests.
Results: Fifty-six mother/baby pairs were evaluated. Colonization by Candida ssp was detected in 49.1% of the evaluated babies, and Candida albicans was the most common type (17%). There was no significant difference between colonization by Candida spp and intervention groups (p=0.947). Oral candidiasis was found in 13.2% of the participants; this prevalence was 15.4% in group I and 11.1% in group II, but this difference was not significant (p=0.704). Presence of Candida ssp colony was associated with the pacifier use (p=0.036) and with diseases in the first month of life (p=0.003).
Conclusions: It was concluded that oral hygiene before tooth eruption is not associated with colonization by Candida ssp or with oral candidiasis in the first month of life.
Methods: The study included pair of mothers and their babies born in a maternity hospital in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The mother/baby pairs were selected in the hospital and randomly assigned to two groups: Group I (mothers instructed to clean the baby’s oral cavity using gauze and filtered water once a day) and Group II (mothers instructed not to clean the baby’s oral cavity before tooth eruption). In the hospital, a researcher exposed the instructions to the mothers allocated to each group. One month after the baby’s birth, the newborns were evaluated in their homes, where a clinical oral examination was performed to assess the presence of candidiasis, and also saliva was collected for Candida spp identification and quantification. Questionnaires addressing aspects related to the baby and the family were also applied. Data analysis included the Mann Whitney and Spearman correlation tests.
Results: Fifty-six mother/baby pairs were evaluated. Colonization by Candida ssp was detected in 49.1% of the evaluated babies, and Candida albicans was the most common type (17%). There was no significant difference between colonization by Candida spp and intervention groups (p=0.947). Oral candidiasis was found in 13.2% of the participants; this prevalence was 15.4% in group I and 11.1% in group II, but this difference was not significant (p=0.704). Presence of Candida ssp colony was associated with the pacifier use (p=0.036) and with diseases in the first month of life (p=0.003).
Conclusions: It was concluded that oral hygiene before tooth eruption is not associated with colonization by Candida ssp or with oral candidiasis in the first month of life.