Poster Presentation

Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis and Iron Deficiency Anemia: Is it Related?

Dr Nurdiana, Lecturer

Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is recurrent oral ulcer that is easy to diagnose clinically. The etiology and pathogenesis of this disorder remain unclear. The main predisposing factors associated with RAS are genetic factors, hematological deficiencies, immunologic abnormalities, local factors such as trauma, and smoking cessation. Several studies have shown that hematological abnormalities can affect the oral mucosa and cause RAS. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between RAS and iron deficiency anemia. This study was a descriptive analytic study with cross sectional approach. The study involved 59 patients with RAS and 60 patients without RAS at the Universitas Sumatera Utara Dental Hospital. RAS was diagnosed clinically. Hemoglobin, erythrocyte morphology, and serum iron level were measured. Iron deficiency anemia was diagnosed by Pathologic Clinic Specialist. The result was analyzed with Fisher’s Exact Test to. Of 59 RAS patients, 4 (6.78%) had iron deficiency anemia and of 60 control patients, 3 (5%) also had iron deficiency anemia. However, there was no statistically significant result for RAS and control patient with iron deficiency anemia with P value of 0.7170 (P > 0.05). We conclude that some of RAS and control patients do have iron deficiency anemia, but RAS had no significant relationship with iron deficiency anemia.

Biography 
Nurdiana has graduated in DDS from the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sumatera Utara, Indonesia and Specialist of Oral Medicine from Airlangga University, Indonesia. She is currently a lecturer at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sumatera Utara. She has published several papers in the fields of dentistry and oral medicine.