Impact of mucoadhesive tablets on pain reduction and ulcer healing in recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Malik Alkabazi, Dawood Alatefi, Ahmed Alanzi, Mabrouka Alshokri, Ebtesam Aldieb

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Odontology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Can artificial intelligence training improve clinical decision-making during deep caries excavation?Evidence-based dentistry · 2026
Trial

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Malik Alkabazi *Faculty of Dentistry Khalij-Libya, Tripoli, Libya. Malik.ibrahim.alkabazi@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-8602-6158

Dawood Alatefi *The University of Jordan, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah Street, Amman, 11942, Jordan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0724-7140

Ahmed AlanziAnesthesia and Pain Management, King Hamad University Hospital, Muharraq, Bahrain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9488-8474

Mabrouka AlshokriBenghazi Medical Center, Benghazi, Libya.

Ebtesam AldiebDepartment of Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to explore the potential effects of mucoadhesive tablets (MATs) on the pain and ulcer size outcomes in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). A systematic search of EMBASE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science was conducted. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing MATs with placebo were included. Risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2 tool, and certainty of evidence was evaluated with GRADE. Outcomes were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis and expressed as mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Four RCTs were included in the qualitative review and only three of them were included in the quantitative analysis. For ulcer diameter, MATs demonstrated a statistically significant reduction at day 5 (MD -1.97 mm, 95% CI -3.88 to -0.05; p = 0.044; I

Indexed as

Meta-analysisMouth ulcersMucoadhesive tabletsPainRecurrent aphthous ulcer

Identifiers

PMID41706378

DOI10.1155/2017/4019723

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.