Denture stomatitis (DS) is frequently associated with high levels of Candida in saliva and deficient denture hygiene. In order to analyse the incidence of DS and its pre‐disposing factors, we evaluated 77 edentulous patients before and 6 months after the placement of new complete dentures. Denture stomatitis was observed in 50·6 and 18·2% of the patients at the first and second evaluation, respectively. Salivary flow, Candida counts in saliva and Candida species were similar in both evaluations. Denture stomatitis and Candida in saliva were more common in females. Our results showed that denture replacement and denture hygiene improvement were useful for DS resolution, particularly types I and II. However, oral and denture hygiene must be continuous, inasmuch as salivary Candida counts remained high and it is considered an important pre‐disposing factor for DS.