Triamcinolone acetonide versus chlorhexidine for treatment of recurrent stomatitis

This study compared the efficacy of pain control of two medications, used to treat recurrent aphthous stomatitis, placed under a physical barrier of cyanoacrylate. Thirty patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis were selected from the records of the Diagnostic Referral Clinic at Indiana University School of Dentistry and randomly divided into three groups; one group was a control. Experimental groups received a topical application of either triamcinolone acetonide (0.025%) or chlorhexidine digluconate (0.12%). Medications were covered by isobutyl cyanoacrylate (Iso-Dent). Controls received the Iso-Dent only. Patients kept a diary to record their pain level on a 10 cm visual analog scale until the lesion healed. Ulcer episodes were treated for 12 weeks. Because some patients had multiple episodes, a total of 35 ulcer episodes were available for analysis. The mean number of ulcer days for each group was not significantly different. ANOVA with repeated measures for 10 days on each patient was first performed. A highly significant difference in pain intensity and perception was found at different days (p < 0.0001). No significant difference was found between the triamcinolone acetonide and chlorhexidine gluconate (p < 0.49).