Overview
Thrush, or oral candidiasis, is a fungal infection that may appear as red, white, or creamy colored areas over the soft tissue. These patches of infection are frequently very painful because of the severe inflammation; inflammation involves: pain, heat redness, swelling and loss of function.
What Causes Thrush?
- Patients taking antibiotics for other medical issues can cause the natural oral flora to become imbalanced, allowing fungal organisms to overgrow
- Neglecting to remove and thoroughly clean dentures or partials daily
- A compromised immune system
- Debilitation by disease among elderly patients
Treatment usually consists of controlling causes by:
- Reducing or changing the antibiotic causing the outbreak
- Thoroughly removing and cleaning dentures and partials every day and keeping them out while you sleep, allowing the underlying tissue to recover
- Using an anti-fungal when the underlying cause cannot be eliminated
- Simply eating yogurt has shown to eliminate minor cases of Thrush