Nutritional factors and oral candidosis.

A variety of nutritional factors including deficiencies of iron, folic acid, vitamins, and diets rich in carbohydrates have been implicated in the pathogenesis of oral candidal infections. The following reviews the growing body of data, from in vivo and in vitro studies, related to each of these implicated factors. Although much disagreement exists as to the specific roles played by these individual factors, there is little doubt that nutritional factors either acting locally or via systemic mechanisms could significantly affect the pathogenesis of oral candidoses. Hence, the role of these less well-characterised predisposing factors should be considered when one is treating patients with intractable oral candidal infections.