Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Denture Stomatitis and Recovery after Antifungal Treatment

Denture stomatitis (DS) is a common oral condition which usually occurs under the maxillary removable complete dentures. Infection by Candida albicans (C. albicans) is considered as the main etiology of this lesion. The aim of the present study was to assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients with DS and its improvement after antifungal treatment.   

In the present quasi-experimental study, the patients were classified into three groups with natural teeth, complete denture wearers without DS, and DS group. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire was completed once by the first two groups and twice by the DS group (before and after prescription of 100 mg fluconazole daily for 14 days). Data analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA, Fisher’s exact test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient at a confidence interval of 95%.

A total of 85 patients were included with a mean age of 69.74±7.95 years. The mean OHIP score was significantly lower in the DS group in comparison with the other two groups (P=0.0001). OHRQoL significantly improved after prescription of fluconazole for DS patients (P=0.0001).

It appears that DS disrupts the OHRQoL of the affected patients, and systemic antifungal therapy has the potential to improve it.