Statement of Problem: Candidiasis is the most common fungal infection in the human oral cavity. 85% of this infection is caused by Candida albicans. Although there is considerable information about the adhesion of Candida albicans to the epithelial cells and prosthetic materials, there are very few studies in regard to the adhesion of Candida albicans to various restorative dental materials.
Purpose: This study aimed to compare the adhesion of Candida albicans to three restorative materials, amalgam, light cure composite and glass ionomer.
Materials and Method: In this experimental study, 54 specimens of amalgam, light cure composite and glass ionomer (18 specimens from each group) were transferred to tubes containing suspensions of Candida albicans (1× 10⁶ cell/ml). After 40, 80 and 120 minutes, the specimens of restorative materials were suspended in tubes containing 1ml of saline solution and then 100 microlitre of this suspension were plated in Sabouraud Dextrouse Agar. After 48 hours of incubation, the number of candida colonies was counted. Finally, the data were analyzed using kruskal wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.
Results: In the composites and amalgams specimens, the adhesion of Candida albicans increased with time and this differences was statistically significant ( p < 0.05). In glass ionomer specimens, no statistically significant difference was observed in different periods of time. The highest value of adhesion was related to composite at 120 minutes and the lowest was observed on a amalgam specimens at 40 minutes.
Conclusion: The results of this study show that glass ionomer is an appropriate choice as a dental restorative material especially in patients who are susceptible to candidiasis infections.