Background and Aims: Candida species are opportunistic pathogens which live as benign commensal organisms in the oral cavities. The infants are more susceptible to opportunistic microorganism colonization. This study was design to evaluate the presence and quantity of Candida colonies in infants' oral cavities and its relation with age, gender, and type of diet and mothers' education level.
Materials and Methods: This historical cohort study was performed on two groups of infants; 1) infants predominantly on breastfeeding (n=45) and 2) infants on bottle feeding (n=45). Oral samples were collected with swab technique and Candida species were identified using germ-tube test. The data were analyzed by using SPSS software, chi-square, logistic regression and Mann-Whitney tests.
Result: The Candida colony was seen in 53.3% of infants. The difference in oral Candida carriage and mean numbers of Candida colonies, according to the mothers' education level, was statistically significant (P=0.0001, P=0.000, P=0.0001); however, the mentioned two groups were not significantly different in terms of the presence of Candida and non Candida species (P=0.45). Candida colonization was not statistically related to the age and sex (P=0.48, P=0.4). By logistic regression test, it was found that type of diet and mother's education level affected oral Candida colonization (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The oral Candida colonization in breast-feeding infants is less than the bottle-feeding ones that might be attributed to the antifungal effects of mother's milk and the role of bottles in transferring the Candida species. Also increase in mother's education level leads to reduction in oral Candida colonization, which may be the result of improved hygiene. But no relation was seen between oral Candida carriage and age or gender of infants.