COLONIZATION OF CANDIDA-ALBICANS ON CLEANED HUMAN DENTAL HARD TISSUES

Candida albicans is a fungus that commonly infects oral mucosal surfac es. Limited data exist on biofilm formation by C. albicans on dental s urfaces. Human premolar teeth were infected with C. albicans for 10 da ys and hard-tissue surfaces were examined with a scanning electron mic roscope. Enamel, cementum and dentine, in the absence or presence of a smear layer, were readily colonized by this micro-organism. Hyphae pe netrated into cracks, followed the ridges of the cavities and migrated into dentinal tubules. Blastospores and hyphae were embedded in an ex tracellular material. These findings suggest that dental hard tissues may be invaded by C. albicans and thus can potentially present a reser voir for disseminating candidal infections. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.