Abstract
Objectives The prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) among the general population
worldwide is 20%. This study aims to discover any correlations between RAS predisposing
factors and the gender and year of study of undergraduate dental students at the Faculty
of Dental Medicine at Airlangga University.
Methods A cross-sectional analytical study using simple random sampling was performed. The
respondents answered seven questions on a self-reported online questionnaire set up
using Google Forms. Chi-square analyses were conducted to determine any correlation
between RAS predisposing factors and the gender and year of study of the students.
Results The highest predisposing factors for RAS in undergraduate dental students were local
trauma (77.7%) followed by stress (71.3%) and nutritional deficiencies (41.5%). Stress
correlated strongly with the year of study (p = 0.015). There was no correlation between gender and RAS predisposing factors (p > 0.05).
Conclusion There was a correlation between stress, one of the predisposing factors for RAS,
and the year of study, but there was no correlation between gender and RAS predisposing
factors including local trauma, stress, nutritional deficiency, genetics, allergies,
and systemic diseases.
Keywords
human health - recurrent aphthous stomatitis - stress - trauma
