Soothe the Pain: Effective Treatments for Mouth Ulcers

Mouth Ulcers cannot be treated and develop within the mouth. Chewing the food carefully is important. There is no particular cause for them.

Mouth ulcer, which include canker sores, happen to be small sores that end up developing within the mouth. There are no definite causes of mouth ulcers, but a few injuries, allergies, or sensitivities may indeed trigger them.

Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Mouth ulcers are rather painful and also typically small lesions that develop in one’s mouth or at the base of one’s gums. They can make eating, drinking, and talking uncomfortable.

Types of mouth ulcers include canker sores and the sores caused by hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Mouth ulcer are rarely contagious and usually go away after 1 to 2 weeks, even without treatment. If a person gets a large mouth ulcer, which is extremely painful or lasts for a long time without healing,  then seeking the advice of a doctor or dentist is important.

Mouth Ulcer

Causes of Mouth Ulcers

There is no particular cause behind mouth ulcer, but certain risk factors and triggers have been identified.

People assigned female at birth, children, adolescents, and also those with a family history of mouth ulcers do have a higher risk of developing them.

Mouth ulcer can also be a sign of conditions that happen to be serious and also require medical treatment, like:

• Celiac disease
• Diabetes
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis
• HIV
• Some autoimmune diseases, including:
  • Lupus
  • Oral lichen planus
  • Behçet’s disease,  which is a rare condition that causes inflammation throughout the blood vessels

When to see a doctor or dentist

Seeing a doctor or dentist about one’s mouth ulcers is when a person  develops any of the following:

• Unusually large mouth ulcer
• New mouth ulcers that do appear before the old ones heal
• Sores that persist for more than 3 weeks
• Sores that extend to the lips
• Painless sores
• Pain that a person is unable to manage with over-the-counter or natural medications
• Severe problems eating and drinking
• High fever or diarrhea whenever one’s mouth ulcers appear

Mouth ulcer treatment

Most mouth ulcer do not need treatment.

Yet, if a person gets mouth ulcer often or they are

 Extremely painful, several treatments and home remedies can decrease pain and healing time. These include:

• Covering the ulcer with a paste made from baking soda
• Placing milk of magnesia on one’s ulcer
• Using other topical pastes
• Using a mouth rinse made from salt water and baking soda
• Use a mouth rinse that contains a steroid to reduce pain and swelling
• Applying ice to one’s ulcer
• Placement of a damp tea bag on the ulcer
• Taking supplements if deficiencies are there  in certain nutrients, including vitamin B9 (folate), vitamin B12, zinc, and iron
• Using over-the-counter topical products that are made with benzocaine, like Orajel and Anbesol
• Trying natural remedies, like echinacea, myrrh, and licorice root ( I may come in several forms, like teas or oils)

How to prevent mouth ulcers

Steps to be taken:

• Avoid foods that irritate one’s mouth. It includes acidic fruits, nuts, chips, and also anything spicy. Instead, choose whole grains and non-acidic fruits and vegetables. Eating a well-balanced diet and considering taking a daily multivitamin helps.
• Try avoiding talking while chewing food to reduce accidental bites.
• Reduce one’s stress.
• Maintain good oral hygiene by flossing daily and brushing after meals.
• Avoid hard-bristled toothbrushes and also mouthwashes containing sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or alcohol.
• Ask the dentist to give wax to cover dental or orthodontic mouth devices that have sharp edges.
• Get adequate sleep and rest. This will not only prevent mouth ulcers but a host of other illnesses as well.

Conclusion

Eating healthy and taking adequate rest is important to deal with mouth ulcers.