Classification and clinical manifestations of oral yeast infections.

By tradition oral candidosis has been classified into acute pseudomembranous (thrush), acute atrophic, chronic atrophic, and chronic hyperplastic types. However, pseudomembranous candidosis is not always acute but may last for many months. Furthermore, the value of using the term atrophic to describe an erythematous area is limited. Moreover, some of the various types have been associated with other clinical entities, which appear to have a combined bacterial/mycologic etiology. A revision of the classification should be based on the use of clinical terms, and in a previous study of multifocal oral candidosis, erythematous, plaque-like, and nodular forms were identified. A revised classification of oral candidosis which considers these aspects could be as follows: acute types: pseudomembranous and erythematous; chronic types: pseudomembranous, erythematous, plaque-like, and nodular; and Candida-associated lesions: denture stomatitis, angular cheilitis, and median rhomboid glossitis.