title: Oral status and Candida colonization in patients with Sjögren's Syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the oral status, salivary flow rate, Candida carriage in saliva, and prevalence of Candida albicans colonization in several areas of the mouth in patients with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome as opposed to those of healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-seven patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS), [14 patients with primary SS (SS-1) and 23 patients with secondary SS (SS-2)], along with 37 healthy controls were examined in regard to number of teeth, pro-bing pocket depth (PPD), approximal plaque index (API), bleeding on probing (BOP), presence of prosthetic appliances and smoking habits. Salivary flow rate (SFR), Candida carriage in saliva, presence of Candida albicans colonization on buccal, angular, palatal and sulcular areas, on dentures and on the tongue's dorsal surface were determined. Statistical analyses were performed using the 2-tailed Fisher exact and Kruskal-Wallis test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No statistically significant difference was found between SS-1 and SS-2 groups based on the parameters analysed. Statistically significant differences were observed between patients with SS and healthy subjects in terms of SFR, oral signs and symptoms, API, BOP, C. albicans colonization on tongue and buccal area, and Candida carriage in saliva. In the gingival crevicular fluid positive C. albicans colonization was found in only one subject of SS subgroup.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SS patients carry a higher risk of having periodontitis and are more predisposed to develop candidiasis. C. albicans is scarcely detected in gingival crevicular fluid despite high scores on C. albicans colonization in different areas of the oral cavity in SS patients.
authors.affiliation: Istanbul University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Medicine and Surgery, 34393 Capa, Istanbul, Turkey. sertanergun@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sertan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ergun
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cekici
authors.forename: Nursen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Topcuoglu
authors.forename: Dante-Antonio
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Migliari
authors.forename: Güven
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Külekçi
authors.forename: Hakki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanyeri
authors.forename: Gülden
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009909:Oral Health; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D012472:Salivation; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*