Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug;32(7):560-570.
doi: 10.1111/jopr.13687. Epub 2023 Apr 18.

Denture stomatitis-An interdisciplinary clinical review

David E McReynolds  1 , Advan Moorthy  2 , James O'Connor Moneley  1 , Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk  3   4 , Ahmed S Sultan  3   5
Affiliations
Review

Denture stomatitis-An interdisciplinary clinical review

David E McReynolds et al. J Prosthodont. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: An interdisciplinary clinical review on denture stomatitis formulated by experts from prosthodontics, oral medicine, and oral microbiology is presented. The review outlines the etiopathogenesis, clinical features, and management strategies of denture stomatitis from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Materials and methods: English-language articles relating to the definition, incidence, gender distribution, geographical distribution, etiology, pathogenesis, symptoms, signs, treatment, and prognosis of denture stomatitis were retrieved via electronic literature search. Relevant articles were summarized for this manuscript with a view toward providing pragmatic information.

Results: Denture stomatitis represents a very common, multifactorial infectious, inflammatory, and hyperplastic condition which is primarily caused by poor oral hygiene, poor denture hygiene, and full-time; mainly night-time denture wear, bringing about the emergence of advanced Candida-containing polymicrobial biofilms in close proximity to the host's mucosal tissues. Denture stomatitis shares clinically relevant associations with dental caries, periodontitis, median rhomboid glossitis, angular cheilitis, aspirational pneumonia, and associated mortality.

Conclusions: Effective, long-term treatment of denture stomatitis relies upon sustained patient-driven behavioral change which should focus on daily prosthesis-level cleaning and disinfection, removal of dentures at night, every night, engagement with professional denture maintenance, and when required, denture replacement. Antifungal medications offer limited benefits outside of short-term use due to the emergence of antifungal resistance. For frail, older, medically compromised, and nursing home populations, treatment of denture stomatitis lowers the risk of aspirational pneumonia and associated mortality.

Keywords: Candida albicans; aspirational pneumonia; biofilm; cleaning; denture; denture stomatitis; disinfection; polymethylmethacrylate.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Gendreau L, Loewy ZG. Epidemiology and etiology of denture stomatitis. J Prosthodont. 2011;4:251-60. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-849X.2011.00698.x
    1. Aguayo S, Marshall H, Pratten J, Bradshaw D, Brown JS, Porter SR, et al. Early adhesion of Candida albicans onto dental acrylic surfaces. J Dent Res. 2017;96(8):917-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034517706354
    1. Bilhan H, Sulun T, Erkose G, Kurt H, Erturan Z, Kutay O, et al. The role of Candida albicans hyphae and Lactobacillus in denture-related stomatitis. Clin Oral Investig. 2009;13(4):363-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-008-0240-6
    1. Phoenix RD. Denture base materials. Dent Clin N Am. 1996;40(1):113-20
    1. Anusavice KJ, Shen C, Rawls HR. Chapter 19 - Prosthetic polymers and resins. In: Phillips’ science of dental materials. 12th ed. ISBN 9781437724189. St. Louis, MO, USA: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2013. p. 474-98.

Substances

LinkOut - more resources