Determination of the level of serum zinc among patients with geographic tongue

Determination of the level of serum zinc among patients with geographic tongue Dr. AR. Abdolsamadi* - Dr. H. Dehbod** * - Assistant Professor of Oral diseases and Diagnosis Dept.- Faculty of Dentistry - Hamedan University of Medical Sciences. ** - Dentist. Background and Aim: Geographic tongue appears as an atrophic area with a keratotic border often seen on the dorsal surface and lateral borders of the tongue. The goal of this study was to assess the level of serum zinc in patients with geographic tongue. Materials and Methods: In this analytical cross – sectional study, 80 patients, 29 cases and 51 controls, with the age ranges of 15 – 58 years among test group and 16 – 59 years among control group, were participated. In order to determine the level of serum zinc, 5 cc venal blood was taken from each patient. Serum was detected from blood samples using santryfusion. The level of serum zinc was measured by spectrophotometry and Randox kit. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and two Samples t – test. Results: The findings of this study showed that the level of serum zinc was lower in patients with geographic tongue as compared to the controls (P<0.05). Out of 29 patients in test group, 6 patients showed serum zinc level lower than normal where as out of 51 controls, 4 of them had lower than normal serum zinc level. Conclusion: Zinc deficiency can probably be an effective factor in filliform papillae atrophy and zinc is likely related to the development of filliform papillae. Key words: Zinc – Geographic tongue – Serum - Spectrophotometry