Association between ingestion of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the emergence of aphthous-like ulcers.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between aphthous-like ulcers and the ingestion of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

METHODS

A total of 150 subjects were included in this study. The study group consisted of 75 subjects who presented with clinical signs of aphthous-like ulcers. The control group consisted of 75 subjects with no clinical signs or history of oral ulcers. All subjects were clinically examined and received a questionnaire which included a history of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intake.

RESULTS

The results of this study demonstrated a possible relationship between aphthous-like ulcers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intake. There was a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of the ulcers in subjects taking NSAIDs (p <0.0001).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Physicians and dentists may need to investigate the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with patients diagnosed with aphthous-like ulcers and may require them to reduce or stop the use of these medications or change them to other types of medications, especially when other contributing factors are eliminated.