Dietary B12 and Folate Intakes in Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS)

OOOOE Volume 108, Number 2 assumptions on outcome assessment and balanced treatment were made. Standardization of outcome and clinical significance is needed in order to expand the analysis of future randomized controlled trials.

DIETARY B12 AND FOLATE INTAKES IN RECURRENT APHTHOUS STOMATITIS (RAS) Scott T. Kozlak, Stephen J. Walsh, Rajesh V. Lalla, University of Connecticut, Department of Oral Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut Objectives: The objective of this investigation was to compare dietary vitamin intake among persons prone to frequent RAS episodes to that among persons in the general population. Methods: 100 subjects who reported at least three episodes of RAS in the previous year were enrolled in a parent study. All subjects completed a detailed NIH-validated Diet History Questionnaire at their baseline study visit. DietCalc software was used to calculate daily dietary intakes of the following vitamins in the 100 RAS subjects: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folate. These daily intakes were energy-adjusted based on total caloric intake and then compared to age and gender-matched nutrient intake data on 9033 subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001-2002). These comparisons were conducted using the Wilcoxon signed rank test in the JMP statistical package. Results: When compared to the NHANES data, the RAS subjects in our study had a higher daily consumption of 7 of the 9 vitamins tested. Interestingly, however, the RAS subjects had significantly lower daily intake of vitamin B12 (p ⬍ 0.0002) and folate (p ⬍ 0.0001) as compared to the NHANES controls. The RAS subjects consumed mean daily levels of vitamin B12 that were lower than those of controls by 0.43 mcg (7% of recommended daily intake). Mean daily levels of folate consumed by RAS subjects were lower than those of controls by 81.3 mcg (20% of recommended daily intake). Conclusions: Our results are significant in that vitamin B12 and folate were found to be consumed in lower amounts in RAS patients compared to NHANES data even though NHANES has been shown to systematically underestimate average nutrient intakes. Thus, patients who suffer from RAS are more likely to have inadequate dietary intakes of vitamin B12 and folate. Funding Sources: Supported by The Patrick & Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, by NIH grant K23DE016946 to Dr. Lalla and by NIH grant M01RR006192 to the UConn General Clinical Research Center.

SALIVARY IL-1␣, IL-6, IL-8 AND TNF-␣ LEVELS IN BMS PATIENTS Hong-Seop Kho, Kyung-Im Suh, Jeong-Yun Lee, Hee-Kyung Park, Jin-Woo Chung, Young-Ku Kim, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Department of Oral Medicine and Oral Diagnosis, Seoul, Korea Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare salivary IL-1␣, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-␣ levels of patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) with controls. Methods: Forty female patients with BMS (mean age: 61.6 ⫾ 10.1 years) and twenty healthy female controls (mean age: 65.1 ⫾ 9.0 years) were included. Both unstimulated (UWS) and stimulated whole saliva (SWS) were collected and their flow rates were determined. Salivary IL-1␣, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-␣ levels and total protein concentration were determined. Salivary transferrin level was measured to determine

Abstracts e17 the level of blood contamination in salivary samples. Gingival index of the subjects were also examined. Student’s t-test and Pearson’s correlation analysis were done. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to investigate whether there were differences in salivary cytokine levels and total protein concentration between the groups considering the effect of blood contamination. Results: No significant differences were found in salivary IL1␣, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-␣ levels of BMS patients compared with controls in either UWS or SWS. Salivary flow rates of UWS and SWS and their total protein concentrations were not significantly different between the groups. The levels of salivary cytokines significantly correlated with the level of blood contamination in UWS (r ⫽ 0.301-0.747) and SWS (r ⫽ 0.602-0.747). Total protein concentration also significantly correlated with the level of blood contamination in UWS (r ⫽ 0.501) and SWS (r ⫽ 0.490). ANCOVA model showed that the variance estimates from the level of blood contamination were far exceeding, being 14 to 735 times larger than the influence from the between-group-differences. Conclusions: Salivary IL-1␣, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-␣ levels in BMS patients had no differences when compared with the controls. Salivary cytokine level was mainly affected by the level of blood contamination in saliva. Funding Source: This study was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (KRF-2007-313-E00495).

DISABLED PERSONS’ RECEIPT OF DENTAL CARE AND BARRIERS ENCOUNTERED Tanya S. Rouleau*, A.L. Harrington, M.T. Brennan, F.M. Hammond, M.A. Hirsch, W.L. Bockenek, Carolinas Medical Center, Department of Oral Medicine, Charlotte, North Carolina Objectives: To evaluate receipt of dental care by patients with disabilities and to assess perceived barriers to dental care, a survey study was conducted using patients with disabilities seen at Carolinas Rehabilitation outpatient rehabilitation clinic. Methods: 508 surveys were administered, 344 surveys were completed. The survey consisted of 66 questions, relating to both medical and dental care. Statistical analysis included the chisquare test for categorical variables. A P-value of ⬍0.05 was considered statistically significant, using SAS software (Cary, NC, USA). Results: Of the study population, 55.5 percent reported being seen by a dentist within the last 12 months, compared to 64.5 percent before becoming disabled. Less frequent dental care following a disability, compared to prior to a disability was found to be statistically significant in the following groups: female gender (following ⫽ 62.1 percent, prior ⫽ 78.0 percent, p ⫽ 0.0017), being white (following ⫽ 60.6 percent, prior ⫽ 75.6 percent, p ⫽ 0.0007), and having Medicare (following ⫽ 53.8 percent, prior ⫽ 69.3 percent, p ⫽ 0.0074). The last type of dental appointment was a routine exam for 56.4 percent of respondents. Since becoming disabled, 16.6 percent of participants in the study reported problems receiving dental care. Participants were also given the opportunity to share their problems with dental care, in getting access to needed dental care, and recommendations to improve access to care. Financial challenges and physical accessibility issues were prevalent. Conclusions: Persons with disabilities in the present study regularly saw a dentist 55.5 percent of the time, which was lower than a published nationwide average for persons with disabilities