Self-Reported Prevalence & Associated Factors for Occurrence of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) in Undergraduate Medical & Dental Students

• Main Authors: Saira Afridi (Author), Jawad Ahmad Kundi (Author), Faisal Hayat (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Gandhara University, 2014-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.37762/jgmds.1-1.73; 2312-9433; 2618-1452
• Keywords: Medical; dental; RAS; Stress; Prevalence; Dentistry; RK1-715; Medicine (General); R5-920
• Source: Journal of Gandhara Medical and Dental Sciences, Vol 1, Iss 1 (2014)

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful oral lesions that occur frequently in young adults; however the etiology still remains unknown. The present study was conducted to explore the prevalence of RAS in undergraduate medical & dental students as these are the group who are in their early adulthood and are prone to stress during studies . Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey carried out in Gandhara University. Two hundred students of MBBS & BDS participated in the questionnaire survey. Interview was done through a close-ended questionnaire to report the prevalence of RAS, the associated history, clinical features & preferred treatment. Results: Prevalence of RAS was found to be 87.5% in the study population. Most common site was lower lip where 20% people have ever experienced oral ulcer. Most of the participants (46%) tried topical gels and 55% found the treatment effective. Majority was not sure which medication they used. Approximately half (48%) of the students associated the ulcer onset with their psychological stress. Conclusion: The prevalence of RAS was found to be alarming (85.7%) among medical and dental students of Gandhara University. The most common associated factors as experienced and reported by the students were found to be family predisposition and psychological stress.