Kumasi, April 22, GNA - A survey carried out by the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Dental Department from March to July in 2004 showed that out of 1,022 patients, 20 had oral ulceration, representing 1.96 per cent.

Out of the 526 female and 496 male patients examined within the same period, 2.6 per cent of the females had oral ulceration as compared to 1.2 per cent of the males.

Dr. James Appiah Amoateng, Principal Dental Surgeon, told the GNA in an interview on Monday that "oral ulceration is simply sores in the mouth that are not cancerous but caused by trauma and burns."

She said the second most common form of oral ulceration was due to chemical trauma and attributed this to the fact that some patients periodically apply various remedies for toothache which include the use of car batteries, aspirin combination of caffeine, paracetamol, aspirin and concoction of coconut fibre juice and salt.

Dr. Amoateng appealed to people involved in such practices to stop. He also mentioned another condition of mouth disease as Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis (ANUG) and explained it as mouth sores which are not cancerous but offensive adding that such condition turn to effect patients in the second and third decades of life.

Dr. Amoateng said such a disease was common with children under 5 years and that people who are prone to acquiring the disease include people with inadequate oral hygiene, smokers, mental or physically stressed, patients with leukaemia and HIV/AIDS.

He called for good nutrition for children to enable their teeth to be strong.