• Pornpan Piboonratanakit
• Teerawat Chanbanjon
• Pakvouttinun Yonokpant
• Lakana Luangjarmekorn

Objective  To determine characteristics, symptoms and the correlation of salivary flow rates and detection of Candida albicans in subjects with geographic tongue.

Materials and methods  Analytical and experimental study in 25 and 21 subjects with and without geographic tongue, respectively. Data about characteristics, symptoms and numbers of geographic tongue were compared by descriptive analysis. Unstimulated and stimulated saliva were spitted and C. albicans were detected by Periodic-Acid-Schiff stain and culture. Analytic statistics in umpaired t test was used to compare salivary flow rates. The correlations of symptoms, salivary flow rates and detection of Candida were analyzed by chi-square test.

Results  The characteristics of geographic tongue were local denude of filliform papillae in red areas with keratotic border. Twenty subjects with geographic tongue (80%) had multifocal erythemathous lesions, 14 subjects (56%) had burning sensation, taste alteration, or dry mouth. Salivary flow rates and detected C. albicans were different clinically but not significant statistically between subjects with and without geographic tongue and between symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects with geographic tongue.

Conclusion  In this study, the characteristics of geographic tongue, salivary flow rates, and C. albicans are clinically different between subjects with and without geographic tongue, although it is not significantly different. Furthermore, correlations of symptoms, salivary flow rates, and detection of Candida in subjects with geographic tongue are not statistically significant.

(CU Dent J. 2006;29:205-218)