Clinical and microbiological efficacy of chlorine dioxide in the management of chronic atrophic candidiasis: an open study

Objective To assess the clinical and microbiological efficacy of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) as a topical antiseptic for the treatment of chronic atrophic candidiasis in geriatric patients.Participants Thirty patients with chronic atrophic candidiasis.Methods Patients were instructed to rinse the mouth with 0.8% ClO2 mouth rinse (DioxiDent) twice daily for one minute and to soak their dentures overnight in the ClO2 for 10 days. Patients were evaluated both clinically and microbiologically at baseline and after 10 days, and any significant side effects were recorded. The clinical appearance of the oral soft tissues was scored on a scale of 0-3 (0 indicating no clinical signs, 1 indicating involvement of 50% of the palatal mucosa). Microbiological testing was undertaken to determine the number of colony forming units (CFUs) of Candida albicans.Results ClO2 significantly improved the clinical appearance and microbial count (p Conclusions Within the limitations of this pilot study, the effectiveness of topical chlorine dioxide (0.8%) in the management of chronic atrophic candidiasis was demonstrated. ClO2 provided a safe and clinically effective option in the management of chronic atrophic candidiasis.