The effect of dietary habits on the development of the recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Abstract

Background: The aim was to assess the relationship between the dietary habits and development of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Materials and Methods: Two groups (30 patients with RAS who have been following dietary habits and not associated with systemic disease or hematologic abnormalities, and the control group consist of 28 patients without recurrent aphthous stomatitis). Results: A Mann–Whitney test (P>0.05) shows no significance difference between the patients with RAS and the control group. Both groups eating similar food such as cheese, cow’s milk, tea, lemon, coffee, orange, apple, yoghurt, and tomato, spicy food, but the patients with RAS ate specific foods containing (pH) like; oranges and lemons more frequently than the control group. Conclusion: Dietary habits have no important role in development of RAS but can lay a minor role in the pathogenesis of RAS either by causing hypersensitivity or by deficiency of some vitamins and minerals.

Key words: Aphthous stomatitis, dietary habits, recurrent

Nigerian Medical Journal | Vol. 53 | Issue 1 | January-March | 2012