Identification of Candida Species in Oral Cavity of Smokers and Nonsmokers

Candida albicans is the most common fungal species isolated from the oral cavity. Oral candidiasis is due to biofilm formation and an overgrowth of Candida species. Cigarette smoking can affect Candida colonization of the oral cavity. This study aimed to investigate the presence and identification of Candida species isolated from oral cavity in smokers and nonsmokers individuals. 76 oral cavity and saliva samples were collected during March 2014 to September 2015 from two groups of smokers (n = 38; mean age: 48.50 ± 9.76 years) and nonsmokers (n = 38; mean age: 44.68 ± 10.79 years) as the control group. The swabs were cultured on sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) media and then, pure colonies were picked to transfer on CHROMagar candida. Likewise, the saliva samples were collected from the both groups for the measurement of salivary glucose and pH. The identification of candida species was completed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The incidence frequencies of Candida albicans, Candida Kefyr and Candida krusei were 42.10%, 5.30% and 2.63%, and 26.31%, 2.63% and 0.0% in smoker and nonsmoker groups, respectively. However, Candida dubliniensis was not detected from the oral cavities in both two groups. At the present study, the colonization of Candida albicans in smokers was more prevalent compared to nonsmokers. The amount of salivary glucose, the number of cigarette smoked per day and the oral hygiene status were the most important predisposing factors for candida colonization in the mouth.