Iron in Oral Health and Disease

Abstract

Certain essential elements are required by the metabolically active cells and tissues for the maintenance of health of human body. Iron is one of the essential elements for life and is needed for a number of highly complex processes that continuously take place at molecular level and that are indispensable to human life. It is necessary for oxygen transport, electron transport, cellular differentiation, and functioning of many enzymes. Concentration of iron in body tissues must be tightly regulated because excessive iron leads to tissue damage whereas iron deficiency encompasses a broad spectrum of diseases with diverse clinical manifestations. Iron levels affect the integrity of oral mucosa alongwith the development and progression of many oral lesions. Also, iron levels could act as a prognostic indicator for many oral lesions.

Keywords

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