title: Oral Candida carriage of patients attending a dental clinic in Braga, Portugal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The ability of the Candida species to colonize surfaces can be considered as a risk factor for oral infection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish oral Candida carriage in patients attending a dental clinic in Braga, Portugal.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 97 patients were analysed. Swab samples were collected and directly cultured onto CHROMagar Candida. Representative yeasts were identified by polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From the samples analysed 54.6% (n=53) were Candida positive, and Candida albicans was the most frequently isolated species, accounting for 79% of all the species identified. Non-C. albicans Candida (NCAC) species recovered included Candida parapsilosis, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, and Candida guilliermondii. There was a lack of association between the presence of C. albicans or NCAC species, and age, gender, or prostheses wearing in this population. In 17% of the cases (n=9), polymicrobial cultures, with two different Candida species, were identified.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows a high Candida carriage rate among this population, thus pointing to the relevance of an accurate diagnostic approach in Candida species identification.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Margarida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Vânia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seabra
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Azeredo
authors.forename: Rosário
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002353:Carrier State; D003740:Dental Clinics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D011174:Portugal