Current Approaches in Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

Abstract

Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is an oral disease with unclear etiology, and it negatively affects the patient's quality of life. The main symptom of RAS is pain, and it has affected 5%-25% of the Turkish population. It is diagnosed through clinical examination and evaluation of the patient's medical history. The treatment is commonly symptomatic. Before the treatment, predisposing factors should be prudently considered. The purpose of the treatment is to reduce pain, improve food consumption, and reduce the interval, recurrence, and frequency of lesions. Analgesics, corticosteroids, anti-microbiological agents, systemic agents, or local agents can be used depending on the lesion severity. The purpose of this review was to enlighten dentists about the diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology, pathology, differential diagnosis, and current treatment approaches for RAS.