What Is Oral Thrush?
By Steven Kacel | Published on January 26, 2010 | 0 Comments
Dr. Steven Kacel, D.D.S., is a cosmetic dentist with a thriving practice in Northbrook, Illinois. A lifelong Illinois resident, Kacel attending the University of Illinois and Northwestern University before starting his own dental practice. In this article, he describes the type of infection known as oral thrush.
Oral thrush is an infection that most dentists don’t see every day. It can be pretty painful, though, which is why oral thrush is something that patients definitely want to have looked at if they think they might be suffering from it.
At its core, oral thrush is basically an infection caused by a fungus. The specific fungus is called Candida albicans, and when a patient gets this in his mouth, it can create a white film inside the check or on the tongue.
Once a patient gets a buildup of the white film, the film is actually thick enough that it can be scraped off. So basically it is a cream legion — that’s the fancy name for it — on the tongue or inner cheek of a patient. Or in some cases, the legion can be on the roof of the mouth.
If this white film gets too thick, it can actually begin to look sort of like cottage cheese. And on top of that, it hurts. If you rub the oral thrust, it can cause the corners of a patient’s mouth to crack, and the person even has a chance of losing his taste.
For people suffering from oral thrush, the infection is so painful it can make their entire mouth feel cotton-like.
Who Gets It?
Basically, in order to get oral thrush, you must be immune compromised. Patients with AIDS, cancer, and diabetes are all at an increased risk for developing oral thrush, even though the infection itself really can affect anyone. Babies, people who wear dentures, and people who use inhalers, like corticosteroids for asthma, are also at an increased risk, although even they do not have as much of a risk for developing oral thrush as someone with a compromised immune system.
What Are the Signs?
The first thing that someone with oral thrush will notice is the white inside of their mouth. The white inside their cheeks will become quite obvious, and then the pain will start increasing, as well.
In a person who does not have a compromised immune system, the system itself keeps all the bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the mouth in check. But when a person has a weakened system, nothing keeps them in line or in check, and that is what lets their oral thrush develop.
The combination of the white film and pain usually drives people to visit the dentist to seek treatment for their oral thrush as before these two things kick in, they probably wouldn’t know anything was wrong.
Treatment
For patients who are reasonably healthy — which means anyone not suffering from any of the immune compromised diseases — simply eating unsweetened yogurt or something called acidophilus (found in yogurt or vitamin supplements) can actually help with the infection a great deal. Yogurt doesn’t destroy the fungus in the mouth, of course, but it can help restore the normal amounts of bacteria and proper levels in the body. So if the balance was off — like a scale — then yogurt can help give you more of the normal type of bacteria to help put all those balances in the body back in check.
For patients who are not otherwise healthy, such as those with a compromised immune system due to AIDS or cancer, there are some anti-fungal rinses and lozenges that they can swish and swallow in the hopes of reducing the oral thrush or getting rid of it altogether. But there is a definitely downside to these anti-fungal rinses: They can be fairly strong. And with that, they can actually damage your liver if you are not careful with them. So people should only take the anti-fungal rinses as a last resort to treating their oral thrush.
*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.