Dr. Reznik, I am one of those persons who is afraid to get tested. I think I may have thrush, due to the film that continues to develop on my tongue, and white appearance. I was at my Dentist's office for a check up, and told him that i'm having a problem with bad breath(which I am). He took a real good look inside of my mouth and said I had a couple of "grooves" in the back of my tongue, but aside from that everything seems to be clean. He suggested I use a scrapper and Listerine toothpaste. My question is : If I in fact would have thrush, would he be able to tell by this examination? Thank you

The diagnosis of thrush (candidiasis) can easily be made by clinical examination if the underlying medical history is known. If a person's medical history is not known, again it is pretty easy to make this diagnosis based on clinical appearance. Many times, providers will scrape off a suspect area and perform a KOH stain looking for the organism that causes thrush.

To directly answer your question: yes your dentist should be able to easily diagnose candidiasis if present.

DR