Quality of life in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis treated with a mucoadhesive patch containing citrus essential oil

Esma Kürklü-Gürleyen,1 Merve Öğüt-Erişen,1 Onur Çakır,1 Ömer Uysal,2 Gülsüm Ak1 1Department of Oral Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul University, 2Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, BezmiÂlem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey Purpose: To assess 1) patient satisfaction of a mucoadhesive biopatch with citrus essential oil and 2) the change in pain severity and the oral health-related quality of life in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Patients and methods: Thirty-seven patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis participated in the study. Baseline records of personal data, ulcer assessment, visual analog scale, and Oral Health Impact Profile-14 were documented. A mucoadhesive patch was applied over the ulcer. Patients were recommended more applications if pain continued. On the fifth day, a post-therapy assessment was made. Results: The mean visual analog scale scores at baseline and posttreatment were significantly different (7.3±2.11 and 4.9±2.6, respectively; P=0.001). The mean duration of pain reduced after patch application. The mean total Oral Health Impact Profile-14 scores before and after treatment showed a statistically significant difference (P=0.001). In total, 78.4% of patients reported a considerable improvement in oral functions after treatment (P=0.008). Conclusion: The mucoadhesive biopatch containing citrus essential oil resulted in satisfying pain alleviation and restoration of oral functions with a significant improvement in the oral health-related quality of life. Keywords: recurrent aphthous stomatitis, pain, quality of life, essential oil, biopatch, local therapy