Vinegar as an antimicrobial agent for control of Candida spp. in complete denture wearers

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

Steeping dentures in vinegar in combination with a cleaning regimen may have a role in treating denture stomatitis.

Main

Pinto TMS, Neves ACC et al. J Appl Oral Sci 2008; 16: 385–390

In this study, 48 selected patients, all of whom harboured Candida spp., were instructed to keep their dentures immersed in 10% vinegar solution (pH <3) overnight, for 45 days. In addition to this, a denture-cleaning regimen was instituted. After treatment, there was both a reduction in counts of Candida spp. and an improvement in denture-induced stomatitis. There was also a narrowing in the diversity of Candida spp. isolated after treatment. This observation should be interpreted with the findings from a recent study that showed there was greater fungus diversity in those biofilms isolated from subjects who are healthy. It was not possible from this study to ascribe the effects to the vinegar or the denture cleaning. In addition, there was no control group.