Adhesion of Candida albicans on preformed crowns used to restore primary molars: An in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Assessing microbial biofilm adhesion to the restorative material's surface is a key factor in determining its success. This study aimed to compare the adhesion of Candida albicans (C. albicans) on stainless steel crowns (SSCs) versus zirconia crowns (ZCs) used for primary molars. STUDY DESIGN: This in vitro study involved 20 full-coverage crowns, with 10 SSCs and 10 ZCs. A fungal adhesion assay was performed to evaluate C. albicans adhesion, using colony-forming units (CFU) and cell proliferation assays. STATISTICS: The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was applied to compare the groups, with statistical significance set at 5 %. RESULTS: The study revealed that SSCs had a lower mean CFU value (28.28 ± 4.557 CFU/ml) and cell proliferation rate (49.74 ± 0.4367) compared to the ZC group (30.70 ± 11.0760 CFU/ml and 74.53 ± 0.7014, respectively). However, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the selection of crowns for restoring primary molars may not be influenced by C. albicans adhesion.