title: Prevalence of Candida spp., xerostomia, and hyposalivation in oral lichen planus--a controlled study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency of Candida spp., xerostomia, and salivary flow rate (SFR) in three different groups: patients with OLP (OLP group), patients with oral mucosal lesions other than OLP (non-OLP group), and subjects without oral mucosal lesions (control group).
  
  
  METHODS
  Xerostomia as well as SFR was investigated in the three groups. Samples for isolation of Candida spp. were collected from OLP lesions (38 patients), non-OLP lesions (28 patients), and healthy subjects (32 subjects).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no statistically significant difference regarding the frequency of xerostomia and hyposalivation among the three groups (P > 0.05). A higher prevalence for colonization by Candida spp. was found in the healthy subject as compared to that of patients with OLP (P = 0.03) and non-OLP (P = 0.02) groups. Low SFR was not a factor for colonization by Candida spp.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Xerostomia and hyposalivation occur with similar frequency in subjects with and without oral lesions; also, the presence of oral lesions does not increase the susceptibility to colonization by Candida spp. It seems that any study implicating Candida spp. in the malignant transformation of oral lesions should be carried out mostly on a biochemical basis, that is, by testing the capability of Candida spp. to produce carcinogenic enzyme.
authors: Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Artico
authors: R S
authors: RS
authors: Freitas
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Santos Filho
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Benard
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Romiti
authors: D A
authors: DA
authors: Migliari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Candida; diagnoses; hyposalivation; oral; oral cancer; oral lichen planus; xerostomia