In order to analyze the clinical factors affecting the fungal culture test, we examined the oral mucosae of 89 individuals with various complaints: pain, xerostomia etc. The subjects, age ranged from 36 to 87 years (mean age: 64.8 ± 11.8). Based on the fungal culture, 56 patients were found Candida-positive, and the remaining 33 patients were Candida-negative. The mean ages of the Candida-positive and -negative groups, respectively, were 67.4 ± 12.0 and 60.5 ± 10.3 years old, with the Candida-positive group being significantly older than Candida-negative group. The Candida-positive group showed a smaller amount of salivary secretion (10.9 ± 5.3 ml/10 min) than the Candida-negative group (13.8 ± 6.0 ml/10 min); this difference was also statistically significant. Patients with Candida infection suffered from different diseases and conditions, including hypertension, gastrointestinal disease, and xerostomia. The above findings suggest that one of the factors in the fungal culture test is dry mouth. Specifically, old age, dry mouth, chronic disease or medication leading to dry mouth were the clinical factors affecting the fungal culture test. However, neither the Candida species detected in the fungal culture nor the clinical appearance of the oral mucosa influenced these clinical features
