Oral manifestations of malnutrition I. The effect of vitamins.

The tissues of the mouth often show earlier signs of nutritional disturbances than does the skin, other body tissues because stratified squamous epithelial lining of the oral cavity (with the exception of that covering the gums and palatal tissues) is not keratinized and changes in the sub-cpithelial tissues and resultant inflammatory reactions become more prominent. Oral tissues are more frequently subjected to physical, chemical, and thermal traumas by eating, talking and by the presence of irritating fillings and appliances. Healing of repeatedly traumatized tissue is limited in various nutritional deficiencies and 3) the mouth is constantly bathed with a fluid containing a variety of potentially pathogenic as well as non-pathogenic micro-organisms in abundance tissues of the mouth whose resistance has been lowered by malnutrition will more easily become infected (Zegarelli et al., 1969). The term malnutrition means the lack, imbalance or excess of one or more of several nutrients that are required by the body. The development of oral disease is related to the type of nutritional disturbances, the severity of malnutrition and the age and general health of the individual. Poor oral hygiene and chronic inflmmation will tend to exaggerate the clinical appearance of the oral reaction to a nutritional disturbances are generalized stomatitis, glossitis, gigivitis, cheilitis, etosions and ulcerations, and mucosal thing and atrophy of specialised structures. A good understanding and a careful search for the oral manifestations of the deficiency or excess of various dietary constituents is an important pre-requisite for arriving at appropriate diagnosis of various types of nutritional disorders. The present article briefly summarises the latest literature on the oral manifestations of deficiency and excess of vitamins. Vitamins are organic substances that are soluble in either fat or water and are required in small amounts for health and adequate nutrition of the body. Of the vitamins, vitamin C and vitamins of the B complex group are of importance to the health of the oral tissue. Vitamin D is essential for normal bone development and metabolism (Shklar and McCarthy, 1976). Dentistry Dept., Khyber Medical College, Peshawar. A. Deficiency (Hypovitaminosis) Vitamin deficiency tends to occur as a mixed clinical entity like the nutritional deficiency which is rarely of a single nutrient. The problem tends to be a deficiency of many nutrients either absent in the diet or unavailable because of some gastrointestinal disorder preventing normal absorp tion and utilization by the body. THIAMINE (Vit. B 1 )-The Oral manifestations of vitamin B 1 deficiency include hyperesthesia of the