Quantitative relationship between yeasts and bacteria in denture‐induced stomatitis

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Abstract
Quantitative cultural studies of yeasts and bacteria were made from 7 day old denture plaque accumulated on pieces of self-adhesive tape stuck on the fitting surface of the maxillary denture in 17 edentulous subjects with healthy oral mucosa and in 27 patients affected with denture-induced stomatatis. Significantly higher numbers of yeasts and bacteria were cultured in the stomatitis patients than in the controls. This indicates that the rate of plaque formation is increased in patients with denture-induced stomatitis. Yeasts usually constituted < 1% of the anaerobic bacterial counts, but the percentage of yeasts was significantly higher in the stomatitis patients than in the controls. There was a significant correlation between initially high yeast counts and improvement of the clinical condition of the palatal mucosa following antimycotic treatment. In some patients only bacteria were grown and antimycotic treatment had no effect. Evidently, yeast antigens and toxins of denture plaque are significant factors in initiation and maintenance of denture-induced stomatitis. Bacteria may also be involved as pathogens.