Table 2.

Predisposing factors to oral candidiasis.

Local Factors

Salivary dysfunction (quantitative and qualitative reductions in saliva and diminished salivary antimicrobial factors)

Poor denture hygiene and prolonged wear Ill-fitting dentures (mucosal trauma)

Topical corticosteroid therapy (steroid rinses or topical gels for management of oral mucosal disease, steroid inhalers) Smoking

Systemic Factors

Age-related immunosenescence (infants and elderly) Broad-spectrum antibiotics (alteration in local oral flora)

Immunosuppressive therapy (systemic corticosteroids, biologic immunomodulating agents, immunosuppressive therapies) Chemoradiation (head-and-neck cancer)

Immunocompromising conditions (thymic aplasia, hyper-immunoglobulin E (IgE)/Job’s syndrome, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis syndromes, Sjogren’s syndrome, graft-versus-host disease, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), leukemia)

Nutritional deficiencies (iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, folic acid, vitamins A, B6, B12, and C) Endocrine dysfunction (diabetes, Addison’s disease, hypothyroidism)