COMPARISON OF ADHERENCE OF CANDiDA ALBICANS ON THREE SILICONE ELASTOMERS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adherence of Candida albicans to the maxillofacial prosthesis commonly employed in material-silicone and to compare silicone elastomers. In this study fungal adherence to three silicone elastomers (VST-50, MDX4-4210 and A2000-1) (Factor II Inc., Lakeside, Arizona) was investigated. Ten specimens of each elastomer were prepared (lcm x 0,5 cm). The sterilized specimens were placed in Sabouraud broth (30 ml) contaminated with Candida albicans. In order to investigate the fungal colonization on surfaces of incubated specimens, turbidity was measured in spectrophotometer. The same procedures were carried out with saliva coated specimens. Results were analyzed with Paired T-Test and with one-way ANOVA. There was no significant difference among all uncoated materials in C. albicans adhesion (p>0.05); but there was a statistically significant difference among the coated materials. Saliva coated A2000-1 silicone