Oral candidiasis: clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment

Oral candidiasis (candidosis) is an infection with multiple manifestations. To prevent prolongation of undiagnosed cases, it is essential that the dental clinicians have an understanding of the etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of this disease. The learning objective of this article is the identification of the various clinical features of candidiasis. The underlying causes of oral candidiasis include antibiotic therapy, poor denture hygiene, xerostomia, immune deficiencies, diabetes, and some less common conditions. Candidal infection may be superimposed on other mucosal diseases and may disguise the underlying disease. The diagnosis is established using clinical appearance and patient history, and it may require diagnostic tests. A significant segment of the population carries intraoral Candida, without any symptoms of infection, complicating the use of diagnostic tests.