The Association between Smoking and Candida in the Oral Cavity
Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the partial contribution of smoking habits to a positive finding of candida in the oral cavity. Methods: The study group included 50 healthy smokers, ranging in age from 20-50 years, (mean 26.78 years).An age-matched group of 50 healthy non-smokers served as a control. A modified Diaslide® (Savion Ltd., Israel) device (originally planned for taking samples from the urine for bacterial culture) was used for a quantitative assessment of candida from the oral cavity. Samples were collected and cultured for candida from the dorsum of tongue and whole saliva of each individual. Results: The total number of candida colonies collected from the saliva was significantly higher in smokers (n=52 colonies) compared to non-smokers (n=25 colonies) (p=0.037). Although there were more candida positive results from the tongues of smokers (n=26 colonies) compared to the control group (n=16 colonies), the difference was non- significant. Duration and amount of smoking had no significant input on the probability of a positive candida culture and on the colony count from the carriers. Conclusions: Although smoking has some influence on the risk of positive candida in the oral cavity, it is limited. Other factors such as dry mouth, immunodeficiency disorders or antibiotic treatment probably have a higher contributing effect. We believe that further technical modifications might improve the modified device value for quantitative candidal assessment.