Oral mucosa diseases in seafarers during long voyages, their treatment and prevention : prospective study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To detect oral mucous membrane disease of the mouth, lips and tongue in seafarers on long voyage, to evaluate preventive measures and treatment effectiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There was a dental examination of 169 men, aged 22-52 on long voyage, who got full treatment and preventive measures of oral rehabilitation in the pre-deployment period in a time manner. The seafarers were divided into 2 groups. The 1st group included 57 seamen, who were part of the crew. The 2nd group consisted of 112 men, who were training and had the first long voyage. The oral mucosa diagnosis was based on a clinic examination. When identifying pathology, treatment was provided and there were anti-relapse measures after its completion, which were possible given the people on board on long voyage. RESULTS: It was found that the structure of oral mucosa is quite different among people of the 1st and 2nd groups. The pathology among the crew occurred more often due to the autoimmune component of pathogenesis in 5,26% and 0,9% cases respectively, while the people in the 2nd group, being on long voyage as part of their training, experienced infectious oral mucosa pathology (12,28% and 15,32% respectively) significantly more often, and also lesions of the lips due to meteorological factors in 8,77% and 10,81% cases accordingly. DISCUSSION: The article discusses the treatment of meteorological cheilitis, the fracture of the vermilion border of the lip, Vincent disease, herpetic fever and chronic recurrent aphthous stomatitis with the use of domestic medicine for topical application. CONCLUSION: On long voyage 26,04% seafarers had cases of oral mucosa, among which most frequently diagnosed ones were infectious diseases, pathology due to meteorological factors, and also diseases with the autoimmune component of pathogenesis. In all cases domestic medicine for topical application was used to reveal pathology of oral mucosa, and further, to prevent its recurrence that allowed to achieve a good therapeutic result and to avoid recurrence of oral mucosa disease, typical for seafarers during a 9-month voyage.