Comparison of two sampling techniques for quantitation of oral yeast levels.

Quantitative culture techniques that estimate the magnitude of oral reservoirs of bacteria or fungi have utilized methods that enumerate colony forming units (CFU) per milliliter of saliva or rinse solution. 1-~ This technique requires the subject population’s cooperation in rinsing and/or expectorating, so it generally is not successful with children younger than 5 years old. A technique for young children that accurately measures the relative magnitude of oral reservoirs of m u tans streptococci employs a tongue blade saturated with the patient’s saliva and pressed onto a specific area of a selective agar medium, s-7 The number of CFUs of mutans streptococci that grow on the selective medium accurately quantifies the relative magnitude of the oral reservoir of these organisms. This approach helps to quantify oral mutans streptococci reservoirs in young children, but we question its use for quantifying oral yeast populations. Yeasts form larger colonies than mutans streptococci and the greater potential for confluent growth may cause inaccurate counts. The purpose of this report was to compare a modified "tongue blade" technique for quantifying oral yeast reservoirs with one using rinsing/expectorating.