Aphthous ulcers as a multifactorial problem.

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a disorder characterized by recurrent ulcerations limited to the oral mucosa. Many specialists and researchers in the domain of oral medicine and other fields do not recognize a single disease in RAS, but several pathologic states with similar clinical characteristics. Even though the real cause is unknown, there are some predisposing factors such as anemia caused by the lack of iron, folic acid and vitamin B, neutropenia, local trauma, emotional stress, metabolic disorders, hormonal disorders and chronic diseases, which cause immunodeficiency.