ABSTRACT
Aphtous stomatitis is one of the most common ulcerative oral diseases. Aphtous stomatitis has several etiologic factors including immunologic, microbial, nutritional factors as well as allergies to the food. The aim of this study was the measurement and compare of the levels of serum iron, ferritin and TIBC among patients with aphtous stomatitis and healthy subjects. In this case-control study 60 person were selected in two equal groups. The first group consisted of 30 persons with recurrent major aphtous stomatitis and no concurrent systemic disease was allocated as case group. The second group consisted of 30 person with no aphtous stomatitis and no systemic disease was allocated as control group. Blood samples for measurement of iron, TIBC and ferritin serum levels were collected. Data were analyzed with T-test. There was no significant difference in the iron serum levels in both groups[71/1 mg/dl in the case group and 77/96 mg/dl in the control group] but the mean serum ferritin level in case group was significantly lower than control subjects [46/99 IU in the case group and 90/1 IU in the control group]. But the mean of TIBC in the case group was significantly higher than the control subjects [358/73 mg/dl in the case group and 329/33 mg/dl in the control group]. Nutritional deficiency especially serum iron and ferritin can be an etiological [factors] for development of aphtous stomatitis