Mohamed Ahariz

Denture contamination by yeasts in the elderly

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate yeast carriage in healthy denture wearers by swabbing and to evaluate the effect of denture hygiene habits. MATERIALS AND METHODS Denture wearers (n = 87) without evidence of denture stomatitis or any other oral disease were investigated by separately swabbing the fitting surface of the upper denture and the corresponding palatal mucosa in contact with the appliance. In a group of volunteers, a gel without any active compound was spread on the palatal side of the denture once in every morning for 2 weeks. RESULTS Screening showed Candida colonisation of upper prosthesis in 75.9% of individuals. The most frequent species isolated were Candida albicans (77.9% of the positive cultures), Candida glabrata (44.1%) and Candida tropicalis (19.1%). Carriage of more than one yeast species was found in 48.5% of the contaminated dentures. There was a statistically significant association between denture contamination and palatal mucosa colonisation (chi-squared test: p < 0.0001). Repeated swabbings after 1 week as well as during a weekly follow-up for 1 month confirmed the denture contamination and its degree of severity. A daily gel application produced a yeast-count decrease to 10% of the initial value after 2 weeks (chi-squared test: p = 0.0134 and p = 0.2841 for prosthesis and palatal mucosa, respectively). CONCLUSION This study documented the reliability of oral swabbing when investigating yeast carriage in healthy denture wearers. Moreover, just a diagnostic tool, sampling upper dentures for Candida could be the opportunity to verify the patients compliance to hygiene advice.

Adsorption of peroxidase on titanium surfaces: A pilot study

The present study demonstrates the in vitro and in vivo adsorption of peroxidase onto titanium surfaces. Titanium foils (mean +/- SEM: 365 +/- 2 mm(2), n = 114) were incubated during 30 min with lactoperoxidase (4 mg in 5 mL 100 mM phosphate buffer pH 7). After 15 washings by H(2)O, titanium foils were incubated with o-phenylenediamine (6 mg/mL) and H(2)O(2) (7 mM) during 30 min. The reaction was then stopped by the addition of HCI 1M and the absorbance of the liquid phase was read on a spectrophotometer at 492 nm. In vitro adsorbed lactoperoxidase onto titanium surfaces was 0.70 +/- 0.05 ng/mm(2) (mean +/- SEM, n = 30). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the incorporation of protein nitrogen onto titanium surfaces: the nitrogen atomic percentage increased from 0.9 +/- 0.3 to 12.7 +/- 0.2% (n = 3) and from 3.7 +/- 0.1 to 14.4 +/- 0. 4% (n = 5) when titanium foils were incubated in the lactoperoxidase solution during 30 min and 24 h respectively. In vivo, oral peroxidases adsorbed on titanium healing abutments from 0.01 to 0.58 ng/mm(2) (n = 19) after 2 weeks in the oral environment.

Candida albicans biofilm on titanium: effect of peroxidase precoating

The present study aimed to document Candida albicans biofilm development on titanium and its modulation by a peroxidase-precoated material which can generate antimicrobials, such as hypoiodite or hypothiocyanite, from hydrogen peroxide, iodide, or thiocyanate. For this purpose, titanium (powder or foil) was suspended in Sabouraud liquid medium inoculated with C. albicans ATCC10231. After continuous stirring for 2–21 days at room temperature, the supernatant was monitored by turbidimetry at 600 nm and titanium washed three times in sterile Sabouraud broth. Using the tetrazolium salt MTT-formazan assay, the titanium-adherent fungal biomass was measured as 7.50 ± 0.60 × 106 blastoconidia per gram of titanium powder (n = 30) and 0.50 ± 0.04 × 106 blastoconidia per cm2 of titanium foil (n = 12). The presence of yeast on the surface of titanium was confirmed by microscopy both on fresh preparations and after calcofluor white staining. However, in the presence of peroxidase systems (lactoperoxidase with substrates such as hydrogen peroxide donor, iodide, or thiocyanate), Candida growth in both planktonic and attached phases appeared to be inhibited. Moreover, this study demonstrates the possible partition of peroxidase systems between titanium material (peroxidase-precoated) and liquid environment (containing peroxidase substrates) to limit C. albicans biofilm formation.