Title:
Periodontal status and oral soft tissue lesions of toxic
veterans referred to Oral Medicine Department of
Mashhad Dental Faculty
Authors: Javad Sarabadani *, Atessa Pakfetrat*, Amir Moeentaghavi**,
Mahdi Balali-Mood***
* Assistant professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry and
Dental Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad,
Iran.
** Associated professor, Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry
and Dental Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences,
Mashhad, Iran.
*** Head of Medical Toxicology Center, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad
University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract:
Background: The effects of chemical gas on tissue exposed to environment
(skin, airways and eyes) depends on the amount of poison and duration of
contact and some areas such as skin folds and parts with thin epidermis are
more sensitive to gas.
Considering the importance of oral lesions evaluation and treatment in toxic
veterans and since non keratinized mucosa of the larynx (of which involvement
have been reported in studies on airways of veterans) are histologically similar
to some of the oral regions such as soft palate and floor of the mouth this study
was conducted to determine delayed oral complications of mustard gas
poisoning in toxic veterans referred to Oral Medicine Department of Mashhad
Dental Faculty.
Methods and Materials:
In this descriptive cross sectional study, 37 of the toxic veterans referred to Oral
Medicine Department of Mashhad Dental Faculty, were orally examined during
a six month period in 2009. The patient's data including demographic data,
duration of oral lesion presence, history of medications, the type of chemical
gas involved and disability percentage were recorded.
We also used periodontal indexes to assess periodontal and oral health status of
patients including: Bleeding on probing, Pocket depth, and Attachment level,
Plaque index, recession, and finally CPITN.
The data were descriptively assessed through SPSS statistical software.
Results:
Among the 37 veterans referred to Oral Medicine Department of Mashhad
Dental Faculty, all of patients had oral soft tissue lesion.
The most common findings were mucositis, different kinds of candidiasis,
respectively. Most of the patients complain of xerostomia. According to
periodontal and oral health indexes, almost all patients had low oral hygiene
level and periodontal involvement to some extent.
Conclusion(s):
Presence of highly frequent oral soft tissue lesions in Iranian toxic veterans
compared to general population necessitates periodical oral soft tissue
examinations by oral medicine specialists.
Key words: Oral soft tissue lesion, Toxic veterans, mustard gas