Dry mouth and denture plaque microflora in complete denture and palatal obturator prosthesis wearers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of dry mouth with denture plaque microflora in patients with palatal obturator prostheses from the viewpoint of infection control. Thirty palatal obturator prosthesis wearers were compared with 30 healthy maxillary complete denture wearers. Dry mouth was examined using a moisture-checking device and was diagnosed by the measured moisture levels. Denture plaque was collected by rubbing the mucosal surface of the denture with a swab; collected microorganisms were cultured and identified using culture-dependent methods. The number of colonising microorganisms and prevalence of microorganisms were examined according to the type of prostheses and presence of dry mouth using nonparametric tests and frequency analysis (α = 0.05). The prevalence of Candida spp. and Staphylococcus spp. in palatal obturator prostheses was significantly higher than that in complete dentures. In palatal obturator prostheses, the total number of colonising microorganisms showed no significant differences between the groups with and without dry mouth on each side of the prostheses. However, the prevalence of Candida spp. and Staphylococcus spp. in the group with dry mouth was significantly higher than that in the group without dry mouth. The number of microorganisms and moisture levels of palatal obturator prosthesis wearers showed a significantly negative correlation with Candida spp. and Staphylococcus spp., but a positive correlation with Neisseria spp. It was concluded that palatal obturator prosthesis wearers with a dry mouth have greater colonisation by Candida spp. and Staphylococcus spp. than do complete denture wearers.