Importance Of Iron Deficiency in Patients with Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

Aphtha is a Greek word for ulceration which is a common problem in dentistry for diagnosis and treatment. Objective: To assess serum levels of iron among patients with RAS and its comparison with the control group. Methods: The analysis involved 150 subjects alienated into 2 groups as a group with recurrence of aphthous ulcer and a control group. The 75 patients were encompassed in the control group and 70 in the aphthous ulcer matched for age and sex. Based on the history and clinical examination, the diagnosis of RAS was made. By ELISA test and ELX 800 Absorbance Microplate Reader tool, Serum ferritin was measured, while micro-lab 300 was used to evaluate serum hemoglobin and iron levels. Results: Grounded on standard values of laboratory investigations, serum levels of iron were suggestively lower in patients of RAS in comparison to the control group. Minor RAS type was observed in 71 patients (94.7%), while major RAS was reported in 4 patients (5.3%). Out of 75, 20% had multiple ulcers and 80% had a single ulcer. While RAS was localized in non-keratinized mucous membrane in 64 patients (85.3%), in 6 patients (8%); RAS was located in keratinized mucous membrane and both non-keratinized and keratinized mucosa were seen in 5 subjects (6. 7%). Conclusion: The presence of iron deficiency has been linked to recurrent aphthous stomatitis