Have you ever had canker sores in mouth? Canker sores can be as big as a quarter, but usually they are about the size of a kernel of corn. Eating hard, crunchy, salty and acidic foods can make canker sores in mouth even more painful.
No one really knows what causes canker sores. Mouth wounds, such as biting the inside of your lip or brushing your teeth too hard seem to give rise to the sores, since the inside of your mouth is delicate.
The majority of canker sores in mouth will heal on their own in a few days to a couple of weeks. You’ll want to watch what you eat when you have a canker sore: spicy and acidic foods can be extremely painful on these open wounds.
If the sores keep coming back, or they do not improve after a few weeks, or if they make you feel so ill that you don’t want to eat, see your doctor or dentist.
Some canker sores in mouth begin with a sharp burning or stinging sensation at the site of the future mouth ulcer. The oral ulcer appears as a white or yellow oval with an inflamed red border.
In some cases, the ulcer can cause other parts of the mouth or tongue to become slightly inflamed with patches of “red bumps” which can feel rough to the tongue. Issues that appear to provoke them include anxiety, exhaustion, ill health, and injury from unintentional biting.
Other causes are hormonal changes, menstruation, rapid weight loss, food allergies and deficiencies in Vitamin B12, iron and folic acid.
Canker sores are categorized according to the width of the lesion. In most cases the sores are classified as minor, which is the least severe form of the disease. Major ulcers have the same appearance as the minor ones, but are greater than 10 mm in diameter and are extremely painful.
The most severe form is known as herpetiform aphtuous ulcerations, and is characterized by small, numerous, 1-3 mm lesions that form clusters.
About 20% of the population has canker sores at any given time. Genetic studies show that susceptibility to recurrent outbreaks of the sores is inherited in some patients. This partly explains why family members often share the condition.
Canker sores have shown up in children as young as 2 years. The regularity of canker sore recurrences varies a great deal.
Therabreath has recently introduced their Periotherapy System Kit that is designed to not only reduce and get rid of canker sores, but to prevent their return.
Dr. Katz is a practicing dentist who also has a degree in Biology. This gives him a unique perspective into the problem, and allows him to look at both solutions *and* prevention for problems like canker sores in the mouth.
You can learn more about the science of canker sores from Dr. Katz here.