Introduction:
Candidiasis is one of the most common diseases of oral mucosa. It affects all age groups, in particular the elderly population. Yeast-like fungi are constituants of natural oral microflora. A number of risk factors are known to contribute to the clinically overt infection, both local and systemic, which disrupts the biological balance of the oral environment.

Aim of the study:
To perform a retrospective assessment of the frequency of occurrence of potential risk factors for fungal infection among patients diagnosed with oral candidiasis.

Material and methods:
The study group consisted of 228 people (152 women, 76 men), on average aged 60.9 ± 13.5 years, diagnosed with candidiasis of oral mucosa. A retrospective analysis of medical records was conducted, taking into account the data from the medical interview and physical examination, which concerned potential risk factors for fungal infections.

Results:
Candidiasis was diagnosed almost twice as often in women as in men. Only in about 8% of cases no recognized risk factors for fungal infection were found. The dominant risk factor was the use of removable dentures (65.35% of patients). Diseases associated with potential disorders of immunity were found in 25% of cases. There were no significant gender differences related to the prevalence of the analysed factors, with the exception of nicotine addiction, observed significantly more frequently in men.

Conclusions:
As far as the reduction of the incidence of fungal infections is concerned, the important issue is increasing multi-specialist dental care for patients using removable prosthetic restorations, also taking into account the frequent co-occurrence of xerostomia.