Conventional and Recent Diagnostic Aids in oral Candidal Infections: A Brief overview
Shazina Saeed1, Shamimul Hasan2, Kuldeep3 and Seema Singh Parmar4

1Amity Institute of Public Health, Amity University, Noida, UP, India.

2Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology; Faculty of Dentistry; Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.

3Department of Prosthodontics, Teerthankar Mahaveer Dental College and Research center, Teerthankar Mahaveer University, Moradabad.

4Department of Psychiatry, Teerthankar Mahaveer Medical College and Research center, Teerthankar Mahaveer University, Moradabad.

Corresponding Author E-mail: shamim0571@gmail.com

Abstract: Candidiasis refers to multiplicity of diseases caused by yeast like fungus candida. Candida is a normal commensal inhabitant of the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract, and Candida albicans is the commonest species demonstrated in the oral cavity. C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, C. dubliniensis are some other species isolated from oral cavity. Candida proliferates if there is a change in the local ecology or suppression of the immune system. As C. albicans exhibits a dimorphic pattern (yeast and mycelial phase), the physicians and dentists encounter diagnostic and treatment challenges for the disease. Diagnosis of candidal lesions is essentially based on clinical manifestations and supplemented by smear and culture.  Species differentiation can be done by morphological features such as germ tubes and chlamydospores and a variety of biochemical techniques. Immunological and genetic techniques are also employed for the diagnosis of candidal infections.

Keywords: Oral candidal infections; Diagnosis; hyphae; Germ tube; biochemical tests.

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