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