Painful Mouth Sores
Mouth sores can be very painful or just a bleeding mass of odd looking tissue. It is very important to use the ten day rule with any odd looking tissue in the mouth. If the mouth sore area of concern does not completely go away in ten days then you should see your dentist and have it checked. There are many causes and types of mouth sores. Any decrease in saliva can increase the chance of a mouth sore. Mouth sores can be non cancerous, precancerous or cancerous (see oral cancer).
• Mouth sore causes
There are many types and causes of mouth sores. They can come from a virus,a bacterial infection. They can come from physical trauma or irritation. They can come from some disorders of inflammation. They can come from unknown causes which is where the canker sore comes from. This is one of the most common mouth sores.
• Mouth sores from injury or irritation
Biting your cheek is more common that you would like to think. After biting it , the tissue swells up and the injury gets re-injured at your next meal because of the increased size of the tissue. This is a classic example of injury of tissue in the mouth that leads to a mouth sore. These are always painful until healing occurs.
• Mouth sores from infections
An example of an infection in the mouth that causes a mouth sore is a virus. An example of this is the common cold sore which is caused by a herpes simplex virus and it is commonly found on the lip. It is less commonly found on the palate. Another example of a mouth sore from an infection is from bacteria. This is caused from an organism that is normally found in the mouth that has overgrown into a pus-filled pocket which is called an abscess.
• Mouth sores from inflammatory disorders
Inflammatory disorders of the body can express themselves in the mouth as mouth sores. Examples of these are Behcet’s syndrome, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and lichen planus. These are all inflammatory disorders that show up in other parts of the body, but also show up in the mouth as a mouth sore.
• Treatment of canker sores aka apthous ulcers
To treat a mouth sore it is first important to find out the cause. It is important to keep the area of the sore clean by lightly brushing it or by rinsing with warm salt water. Once the Doctor finds out the cause of the mouth sore, the recommended treatment is then prescribed. Canker sores are also known as apthous ulcers.They have a 10 day healing period and their treatment varies. Some treat them with oral rinses and others use corticosteroids. Most treatment has little effect on the apthous ulcer and after ten days the pain and the mouth sore are gone. Apthous ulcers come about during stressful times. Some people get apthous ulcers from eating certain foods like chocolate, coffee, peanuts, eggs, cereals, almonds cheese and tomatoes. Some people have apthous ulcers come about a few times a year while some people have continuous outbreaks.
