Abstract

Background: Increasing the prevalence of oral Candidal growth is associated with the habit of smoking and increased with denture wearing, and many of these carry a potential risk for the development of denture-related stomatitis. Shisha smoking in the rural areas in Egypt is more prevalent than cigarettes, especially in old males. There have been no studies that report the prevalence of candidal growth and denture related stomatitis under complete dentures in shisha smokers, in rural regions, of south Egypt.

Materials and Methods: A total of 30 edentulous participants were selected and examined to assess any oral mucosal changes (15 were shisha smokers and 15 were non-shisha users). complete dentures were constructed, For every patient, oral examination and samples were collected at the following intervals: before denture insertion, one, three, and six months after denture adaptation.

Results: Shisha smoking affect significantly the mean count at different time interval (1,3,and 6 months) while the non shisha users was observed to show significant increase later at 3 and 6 months. Confluent growth was not observed among non- shisha users while it appears in about 7% of the shisha smokers group. Moderate and severe inflammatory grades of palatal mucosa was noticed among shisha smokers compared to mild grade only seen in one case of non-shisha users after 6 months of insertion.

Conclusion: shisha smoking increases the prevalence of candidal growth under complete dentures and increases the probability of denture-related stomatitis to occur.