Efficacy of Rose Bengal and Curcumin mediated photodynamic therapy for the treatment of denture stomatitis in patients with habitual cigarette smoking: A randomized controlled clinical trial

•CUR-and RB-mediated PDT showed comparable clinical effect in treating DS.•C albicans was the most prevalent yeast found in DS subjects among CS.•PDT is primarily an adjunct therapy to treat DS along with mechanical cleaning. Cigarette smoking in conjugation with bad oral hygiene is considered a typical predisposing factor for many oral diseases including denture stomatitis. This study investigated the effect of Rose Bengal (RB)-and Curcumin (CUR)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) in comparison with nystatin therapy in the intervention of denture stomatitis in cigarette smokers. Overall, 45 habitual cigarette smokers aged ~58 years having denture stomatitis were categorized into three groups: Group-I – RB-mediated PDT, Group-II – CUR-mediated PDT, and Group-III – Nystatin therapy. The primary outcome of the interest was: counts of Candida colony from denture surface and palatal mucosa, calculated as CFU/mL, whereas the prevalence of Candida species determined in 3 research groups comprised the secondary outcome. Oral swab specimens were gathered from the denture surfaces and palatal mucosa. All clinical assessments were performed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. C. albicans was the most prevalent yeast identified on both denture surfaces and palatal mucosa, followed by C. tropicalis and C. glabrata. A considerable decrease in the CFU/mL scores were observed in Group-I and Group-II at the end of the interventions and on the 12-week follow-up (p