Mouth ulcers are painful areas in the mouth and gums that make it difficult for some people to eat, drink, and brush their teeth. They are also known as canker sores, and they can be extremely uncomfortable and can be difficult to eat or brush your teeth.
Causes of Mouth Ulcers
Most mouth ulcers are benign. Most will clear up within 2 weeks.
- Acidic foods, such as citrus fruits, may aggravate ulcers, and several factors including quitting smoking, biting the tongue, poor-fitting dentures, and apparatus that rub against the mouth and gums, a deficient filling, and medications including beta-blockers and pain killers may contribute to ulcers.
Are mouth ulcers cancerous?
Mouth ulcers are often painful, but not cancerous
- Herpetiform ulceration (HU): resemble sores associated with herpes
- Minor ulcers: take up to 2 weeks to get better and will cause minor pain
- Major ulcers take several weeks to go away and are likely to leave scar tissue
Malaria
Mouth ulcers have no known cure and typically recur in the mouth throughout a person’s life.
- There are some things people can do to lessen the severity of or reduce the number of times they suffer from an outbreak: changing medications, avoiding foods that can either trigger or worsen symptoms, keeping the mouth clean with daily brushing and flossing, avoiding triggers known to cause outbreaks in the past
