Denture-related stomatitis, also called denture sore mouth, is usually a painless condition. Its symptoms are mild inflammation and redness of the oral mucous membrane beneath a denture. There may be swelling, and it may hurt when a denture wearer puts their dentures in their mouth or takes them out. There may also be white patches in the mouth.
The condition is most often caused by a yeast infection of the mouth and is more common in older people and those who wear an upper denture, particularly if they don’t remove it when they sleep or don’t clean it regularly. It can also be caused by dentures which don’t fit well. If dentures don’t fit well, yeast can build up between a person’s dentures and gums. Other less likely causes are dry mouth, diabetes, a high carbohydrate diet, or HIV.
A dentist may suspect denture-induced stomatitis if the area under your dentures is sore or swollen or you have bumps on the roof of your mouth. Your dentist may test whether your mouth has a yeast infection. This involves wiping the affected area with a cotton swab, placing the swab in a special solution, and sending it to a laboratory to confirm the preliminary diagnosis.
The dentist may use a topical antifungal medication, such as nystatin, miconazole, amphotericin, itraconazole, or fluconazole. Sometimes an antimicrobial mouthwash such as chlorhexidine is also prescribed. If underlying serious diseases (such as diabetes or HIV) are suspected, the diagnosis would be confirmed by further tests and treated accordingly. If deficient denture hygiene is the cause, then correct practices by the patient need to be implemented, such as removing the denture at night, cleaning and disinfecting it, and storing it overnight in an antiseptic solution. In most cases the condition can be resolved with proper denture hygiene.
