Mouth Sores: Causes, Treatment, Cost and Home remedies

A mouth sore is a small, shallow sore that can appear on any of the soft tissues, floor and roof of your mouth, on lips and cheeks or at the base of your gums. In some cases, you can develop sores on the oesophagus, the tube leading to your stomach. Mouth sores are generally harmless and last for about two weeks. However, in extreme cases, they can be a sign of mouth cancer.

You must consult a doctor if you experience sores that are more than half an inch in diameter, rashes, joint pains, diarrhoea or fever. Mouth sores can occur if you bite your tongue, cheek or lip, chew tobacco, brush your teeth too hard or use a very hard bristled tooth brush. They may also occur if you have braces, retainers or dentures. Minor mouth sores go away naturally but major ones might need to be treated.

There can be several reasons which can cause mouth sores and the usual reason can be:

• If your mouth gets burnt
• Chewing tobacco
• Get your tongue bitten
• If you brush your teeth too hard or if your toothbrush is very hard
• If you get irritated with any kind of sharp objects like braces or dentures.

There can be some other causes as well that can also cause mouth sores:

• Prescription medications or over-the-top medications
• Gingivostomatitis
• Oral thrush
• Infectious mononucleosis
• Radiation
• Chemotherapy
• An autoimmune disorder
• Cancer
• Celiac disease
• Bacterial infection
• Fungal infection
• Viral infection
• A weak immune system

Though mouth sores can get treated on their own and needs a bit of handling sometimes they can get worse, thus the real reason needs to be diagnosed. These are situations for which you should need to go to the doctor:

• White-colored patches on the sores
• If you have been suspected with herpes simplex or another infection
• If you have started taking cancer treatment
• If you have recently gone through any transplant surgery
• If you have changed your medication or if any medicine is not suiting

Mouth sores get treated by themselves within 10-14 days and they last up to six weeks. They get healed by themselves but if it is taking much time then you can do some treatments for them to be healed:

• You can avoid eating hot and spicy, high sugar foods, salty and citrus food
• Avoid eating tobacco
• Try doing gargles with lukewarm and salty water to seek some relief from pain
• Taking medication for pain which includes acetaminophen
• You can also treat them by applying baking soda and water paste
• Avoid squeezing or picking the blisters as it can worsen the condition
• If mouth sores still not get healed by doing all these treatment then you can visit the doctor and take medications prescribed by them which can be a pain reliever, anti-inflammatory drug, or steroidal gel.

Most mouth sores go naturally in some time. If you do not want to go through medications, you can wait for them to disappear on their own.

These are the ways in which mouth ulcers can be prevented:

• By chewing your food slowly
• By not eating spicy or salty food
• Use a soft toothbrush and keep dental hygiene
• Eating a balanced diet and drinking lots of water
• Stop smoking and tobacco
• Limit the consumption of alcohol
• Do not let your body to remain in stress for a longer period of time
• Start taking vitamins such as vitamin B supplements

The time period of recovery depends on the severity of your condition. Most sores go away in about two weeks.

One session of consultation with a doctor may cost you between ₹200 - ₹600. The cost of acetaminophen may be around ₹100 per 500ml.

Mouth sores may occur again if you go through the same conditions again.

These are the ways in which we can get rid of mouth sores at home:

• Alum Powder: This is very useful during mouth sores as it is made of potassium aluminium sulfate which is used for food reservations. Alum consists of astringent properties and which helps in shrinking down the tissues and also dries them out. You can directly apply alum powder on the mouth sores and repeat until they are gone.
• Rinsing mouth with salt water: This is one of the best things that can be done for painful mouth sores. Saltwater helps in the drying up of the canker mouth sores. You can dissolve salt in the water and swirl that in your mouth. Repeating it 2-3 times a day helps get rid of them rapidly.
• Rinsing mouth with baking soda: Baking soda helps in restoring the pH balance of the mouth and also reduces inflammation. It heals the mouth sores very fast. You can dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in ½ cup water and swirl it in the mouth. Repeat it for 3-4 times a day.
• Honey: It is full of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and honey helps is getting rid of the pain, redness, and also prevents secondary infection which sores can cause.
• Coconut oil: Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties and it prevents bacteria from spreading. The anti-inflammatory properties of coconut oil help in the reduction of pain and redness.
• Milk of magnesia: This consists of magnesium hydroxide which works as a laxative and an acid neutralizer. It does not let the mouth sores thrive for a much longer period of time.
• Mouthwashes: Different kinds of mouthwashes which include sage mouthwash, DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice) mouth wash, apple cider vinegar mouthwash. All of these are helpful in the removal of sores from the mouth.