Oral local factors affecting candida colonization in patients undergoing perioperative oral care.

Abstract

Recently, perioperative oral function management, focusing on oral care, has been considered important from the perspective of preventing infections caused by oral microorganisms. One of the infectious diseases that should be prevented is oral candidiasis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the oral local factors related to Candida colonization in perioperative patients. The analyses of the relationship between oral local factors and Candida colonization revealed that three factors - a reduction in the number of remaining teeth, wearing dentures, and increased dry mouth - were related to Candida colonization. The oral local factors related to Candida colonization identified in this study may be useful indicators for easily and quickly determining whether or not Candida colonization is present. It is difficult to perform bacteriological tests on all perioperative patients, who are subject to various constraints, including physical, mental, and time constraints, so we hope that oral examinations focusing on these oral local factors would provide a foothold in preventing the onset of oral candidiasis in perioperative patients.