Oral Candida carriage among individuals chewing betel-quid with and without tobacco

Objective. The aim was to assess oral Candida carriage among individuals chewing betel-quid (BQ) with and without tobacco. Study design. A retrospective and comparative study of oral Candida carriage among individuals chewing BQ with and without tobacco. Oral yeast samples were collected from 103 BQ-chewers (52 chewing BQ with tobacco and 51 chewing BQ without tobacco) and 100 non-chewers. Candida strains were cultured in Sabouraud dextrose agar and identified using the API 32-C System and polymerase chain reaction-DNA sequencing. Tongue lesions were clinically identified and numbers of missing teeth were recorded. Unstimulated whole salivary flow rate was recorded. Results. Oral Candida species were isolated from 72.7% BQ-chewers (73.1% in individuals chewing BQ with tobacco and 72.4% in individuals chewing BQ without tobacco) and 61% non-chewers. Conclusion. Chewing BQ (with or without tobacco) does not influence oral Candida carriage.