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Background: The aim of this study was to assess the serum zinc levels in patients with common oral mucosal
diseases by comparing these to healthy controls.
Material and Methods: A total of 368 patients, which consisted of 156 recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) patients, 57 oral lichen planus (OLP) patients, 55 burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients, 54 atrophic glossitis
(AG) patients, 46 xerostomia patients, and 115 sex-and age-matched healthy control subjects were enrolled in this
study. Serum zinc levels were measured in all participants. Statistical analysis was performed using a one-way
ANOVA, t-test, and Chi-square test.
Results: The mean serum zinc level in the healthy control group was significantly higher than the levels of all
other groups (
p <
0.001). No individual in the healthy control group had a serum zinc level less than the minimum
normal value. However, up to 24.7% (13/54) of patients with AG presented with zinc deficiency, while 21.2%
(33/156) of patients with RAS, 16.4% (9/55) of patients with BMS, 15.2% (7/46) of patients with xerostomia, and
14.0% (8/57) of patients with OLP were zinc deficient. Altogether, the zinc deficiency rate was 19.02% (70/368) in
the oral mucosal diseases (OMD) group (all patients with OMD). The difference between the OMD and healthy
control group was significant (
p <
0.001). Gender differences in serum zinc levels were also present, although not
statistically significant.
Conclusions: Zinc deficiency may be involved in the pathogenesis of common oral mucosal diseases. Zinc supplementation may be a useful treatment for oral mucosal diseases, but this requires further investigation; the optimal
serum level of zinc, for the prevention and treatment of oral mucosal diseases, remains to be determined.
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