A REVIEW OF FUNGAL INFECTIONS OF ORAL CAVITY AND ITS EMERGING TRENDS

Abstract

Oral commensal ora consists of a wide range of micro-organisms that include eubacteria, archaea, fungi, mycoplasmas and protozoa. From oral commensals, fungi are classied as eukaryotes. Fungal species that are present as commensal inhabitants in the oral cavity but can lead to a very serious infection with broadcast to various parts of body in patients with immune-suppressed state and therefore are referred to as opportunistic pathogenic fungi . Mucor and Cryptococcus too are etiological agents of signicant number of oral infections. Clinical presentations of the fungal infections vary from pseudo-membranes, purulent swellings, erosive lesions, pustules to widespread destruction due to necrosis that may extend upto bone.(1,2) Despite advances in treatment modalities, the frequency of deaths associated with invasive candidiasis remains high and is about one-third to one-half of affected patients. (3) The candida species, adhere utilizing both specic and nonspecic mechanisms including dimorphism with direct tissue invasion & extra-cellular enzymes. (7) Oral supercial candidiasis may occur in various clinical forms. Also, besides candida, the fungi that can cause deep-seated fungal infections in humans are : Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Histosplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Zygomycetes class, Coccidioides immitis, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Penicillium marneffei, Sporotrix schenckii and Geotrichum candidum. Detection of invasive fungal disease cannot be done from isolation and identication of fungal DNA alone. At present, treatment of candidiasis, of any type, relies only on a limited arsenal of antifungal agents. (2, 7)