Frequency of Patients Presenting with Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is considered as the most common ulcerative condition of the oral mucosa. A study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of RAS in a rural population from South Kerala, India. A total of 10518 patients attending PMS College of Dental Science and Research over a period of one year were examined for RAS according to age, gender, and site of lesion. RAS was identified in 0.48% of patients with 1.3:1 female to male ratio and lower labial mucosa showing maximum incidence among patients attending outpatient department of dental college located in a rural area of South Kerala. RAS is a condition that commonly affects young adults. Even though not life threatening it can significantly affect the health related quality of life of an individual. In our study population the prevalence of RAS was 0.48% with female predilection. Lower labial mucosa was found to be most affected site followed by tongue.