Have you ever had a small but painful sore along your gums, inside your cheeks or somewhere else in your mouth? It may be a canker sore. Canker sores are quite common and while they can be uncomfortable and painful, they generally go away within a few days with little intervention. Here is some background information and common canker sores treatments and prevention tips.

What is a Canker Sore?

The medical term for a canker sore is aphthous ulcer. An aphthous ulcer is a shallow lesion that develops on the soft tissue inside the mouth such as along the gums, inside the cheeks or lips, and even on the tongue.

Ulcers occur when some of the skin cells prematurely die. The body’s defense mechanisms work to isolate any potential infections and eliminate the dead cells. This can result in minor swelling, redness and soreness.

Canker sores are usually quite small, don’t present a significant issue in the mouth and fully heal within seven to ten days. Larger canker sores can be more painful when eating, drinking or brushing your teeth and can take a little longer to heal. Canker sores don’t usually require any additional intervention for full healing.

 

Canker Sores Prevention

Unfortunately, there isn’t one singular main reason people get canker sores. As such, it is difficult to do specific things to prevent canker sores.

Research suggests that being susceptible to canker sores might be genetic. If one or both of your parents suffer from canker sores, you’re more likely to, also. This doesn’t help with trying to prevent canker sores, though.

Canker sores do seem to have some correlation to stress and the overall health of the inside of your mouth. There is some research that people who are susceptible to canker sores experience them more frequently during periods of elevated stress. While it might be easier said than done, try to avoid stressful situations to prevent canker sores.

Canker sores also seem related to the health of the inside of your mouth. Damage caused by chewing the inside of your cheeks or lips (possibly because of a nervous habit) or accidentally biting your cheeks or lips (while chewing gum, for example) could trigger canker sores. If you find that you’re causing damage to the inside of your mouth, try to determine the root cause and change whatever action is causing it.

Canker sores can result from minor infections, so try to keep your mouth as clean as possible to help prevent these sometimes-painful ulcers. If you find that you’re dealing with a lot of canker sores, brush your teeth more frequently (at least twice a day!) and drink lots of water to help flush any excessive bacteria and contaminants out of your mouth.

 

Canker Sores Treatments

Here are a few different types of canker sores treatments:

• Time – in most cases, the canker sore will heal itself and completely disappear without any external intervention. Make sure that you’re not doing anything to cause additional damage to the inside of your mouth and keep your mouth clean and let your body’s natural repair systems take care of the rest.
• OTC Pain Relief – If you have some more painful canker sores that are affecting your daily life, you may consider over-the-counter pain relief from your local pharmacy. There are many good brands that your pharmacist can help you choose from.
• Visit Your Family Dentist – If you have a large (larger than about the size of the tip of a pencil eraser) canker sore, it might be worth booking an appointment with your family dentist. Your dentist can examine your canker sore and the rest of your mouth carefully and make sure that everything is in order and that there aren’t any underlying conditions causing your current and potential future canker sores. And you could even stick around for a regular checkup to make sure that your entire mouth is in tip-top shape!

 

Orion Dental is a full-service dentist with a complete range of dental services for the entire family. With a dental office in Milton and a dental office in Scarborough and evening and weekend office hours, we make it easy for our patients and their families to stay on top of their oral health. If you’re experiencing canker sores or any other issues with your mouth or teeth, call us today to book an appointment, we’d love to help!