Understanding the Causes of Mouth Sores and DIY Remedies for Oral Ulcers
(Part 1)
Have you ever experienced pain in parts of your mouth? Or perhaps you’re feeling that pain at this very moment?
As many other people have experienced, mouth sores (also known as mouth ulcers or oral ulcers) are common and painful.
These lesions can appear in various parts of the oral cavity such as the insides of the cheeks, the inner surface of the lips, on gums, on the sides and underside of the tongue, on the roof of the mouth, on the throat, and under the tongue on the floor of the mouth.
Typically, these sores come in as small round spots with a white, yellow, or red center and a swollen border.
Although mouth sores often disappear on their own time and heal within a week or two, other cases have occurred where the sores were recurrent.
In addition to that, the painful discomfort accompanying it may affect a person’s comfort in daily activities and quality of life.
While they may seem like inconveniences, mouth sores can affect anyone. Knowing what oral ulcers are, what causes them, and how they can be treated is essential in effective management to help soothe discomfort and enable recovery.
Types of Mouth Sores
To understand the potential causes and their severity and identify the appropriate treatment, mouth sores can be categorized into multiple different types. Some of the most common types are:
- Canker sores, or aphthous ulcers, are small noncommunicable lesions that typically heal in 1-2 weeks. They are most common and often appear on gums and soft mouth tissues. However, there are multiple kinds of canker sores, such as the common minor canker sores, the bigger major canker sores, and the tiny but clustered herpetiform canker sores.
- Cold sores, called alternatively as fever blisters, are caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). They often appear on the lips as red, fluid-filled blisters. In its healing phase, a crust will form over the open sores before eventually falling off.
- Traumatic ulcers, which are often induced by physical injury, possess a variable appearance depending on the injury sustained. Amongst all traumatic ulcers, shared characteristics involve redness, inflamed borders surrounding the tissue, and swelling around the affected area.
In addition to these specified details, it should be noted how each type of mouth sore has its distinct characteristics, be it the canker sores’ round appearance with a white or yellow center, the cold sores that appear as fluid-filled blisters, or the traumatic ulcers that are accompanied by redness and swelling as a sign of physical injury.
Not only can the appropriate treatment be administered, but awareness of these types can aid in better oral health care by understanding which preventive measures apply to what and what not.