Assessing oral candidal carriage with mixed salivary glucose levels as non-invasive diagnostic tool in type-2 diabetics of davangere, karnataka, India.

BACKGROUND

The health of oral tissues is known to be related to salivary flow and its composition which may be altered in diabetic patients. The purpose of this study is to correlate mixed salivary glucose levels and oral candidal carriage and to assess the prevalence of candidal carriage in diabetics and controls.

METHODS

Thirty adults with type-2 diabetes and 30 without diabetes (control subjects), aged 30-60 yr, participated in the study. Unstimulated saliva was collected and investigated for glucose levels (using glucose oxidase method) and colony-forming units (CFU) of Candida, this was stained with two stains, periodic acid-schiff stain and Grocott Gomori stain.

RESULTS

In the present study mixed salivary glucose concentration in diabetics was significantly higher (p<0.01) compared to the controls. Diabetics with intraoral candidal carriage had higher salivary glucose levels (mean = 12.76±5.85 mg/dl) compared to cases where Candida was not isolated. The diabetics without intraoral candidal carriage had lower salivary glucose levels (mean = 5.36±2.24 mg/dl). This relationship could be seen in controls (non-diabetics) also. Diabetics showed an oral candidal carriage rate of 80% which was significantly higher compared to nondiabetics who showed an oral candidal carriage rate of 40%.

CONCLUSION

Mixed salivary glucose levels were significantly higher in diabetics. The possible high salivary glucose level could predispose to oral candidal infection. So saliva can be used as a quick, non-invasive tool to assess the oral candidal status and possible infection.