Assessment of quality of life in patients with aphthous stomatitis

Objective: To assess the oral health-related quality of life in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Methods: Consecutive patients with RAS, otherwise healthy were recruited in the study. All patients were asked to complete a survey including demographic data, RAS-associated visual analogue scale (VAS), oral health-specific questionnaire (the short form of Oral Health Impact Profile, OHIP-14), location and size of ulcers. Results: Eighty six patients (36 males and 50 females) with a mean age of 39.09 years (range:16-70 years) were enrolled. The mean VAS score was 7,10±2,09 (range:3-10). The mean of total OHIP-14 score was 23,63±9,39 (range:3-53). No statistically significant correlation was detected between age and total scores of OHIP-14. We found significant gender differences in psychological discomfort domain of OHIP-14 (p=0,002). Females had higher scores in the domain of psychological discomfort than males. VAS score was significantly positively correlated with total OHIP-14 scores (r=0,23; p=0,036), physical pain domain (r=0,23, p=0,033), and social disability domain (r=0,26; p=0,016). Regarding the mucosal sites with ulcer, 58 patients (%67,4) had one involvement whereas 28 patients (%32,6)had two. No significant differences were found in total OHIP-14 score and scores of all domains in terms of the number of the involved mucosal sites. Patients with large ulcers (equal to or more than 0.5 cm) had significantly higher OHIP-14 total scores than those with small ulcers (less than 0.5 cm) ( p=0.07). Conclusion: Gender, patient-reported pain, and size of ulcers are important factors affecting the oral health-related quality of life in patients with RAS.