Clinical Features of Oral Candidiasis Among Patients Visiting the Dental Clinics in College of Dentistry, University of Hilla, Babylon, Iraq

The most prevalent illness in the oral cavity and in general dentistry practice is oral candidiasis, often known as thrush, which can afflict anyone. Candida albicans, which is typically present in the mouths of approximately 50% of the global population as a normal component of the oral microbiota but during host immunosuppression or alterations in oral microbiota, is the most frequently implicated organism in this condition. It is a fungal infection caused by Candida spp. If the conditions within the mouth alter in a way that promotes the growth of Candida albicans, the organism may proliferate and result in an infection. Additional variables that may contribute to this oral infection include dentures, diabetes, cancer, mucosal disorders, and some pharmacological therapies. Although the fungus that causes candidiasis cannot be passed from person to person, it can be through an infected person's saliva. The symptoms, which include elevated patches in the mouth that bleed and become sore when scraped, as well as white or yellow spots in the mouth, especially on the tongue and inside of the cheeks, are usually simple to see. It is present in many healthy individuals and settles in the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. The general consensus is that there are six recognized clinical manifestations of candidiasis: pseudomembranous, erythematous, denture-associated, hyperplastic, angular cheilitis, and median rhomboid glossitis. Patients with the condition typically exhibit a single distinct type, though occasionally a single patient may exhibit multiple clinical variants. Patients who visited the dentistry department's clinics at Hilla University College in Babylon, Iraq between October 2022 and April 2023 provided the data.