What are the different types of mouth ulcers?
There are 3 types of mouth ulcers: minor, major, and herpetiform.4,5
- Minor (small oval or round ulcers that heal within 1 to 2 weeks with no scarring).
- Major (larger and deeper than minor ones). They have irregular edges and can take up to six weeks to heal. Major mouth ulcers can result in long-term scarring.
- Herpetiform (pinpoint size, occur in clusters of 10 to 100), often affect adults. This type of mouth ulcer has irregular edges and will often heal without scarring within 1 to 2 weeks.
Are there other more serious conditions that can lead to mouth ulcers?
Mouth ulcers also can be a sign of conditions that are more serious and require medical treatment, such as:5
- Coeliac disease (a condition in which the body is unable to tolerate gluten)
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Diabetes mellitus
- Behcet’s disease (a condition that causes inflammation throughout the body)
- A malfunctioning immune system that causes your body to attack the healthy mouth cells instead of viruses and bacteria
- HIV/AIDs
How can I treat a mouth ulcer?
Mouth ulcers need time to heal and there is no quick fix. Avoiding things that irritate your mouth ulcer should help:15
- speed up the healing process
- reduce pain
- reduce the chance of it returning
Is there medicine I can take to get rid of my mouth ulcers?
Most mouth ulcers don’t need treatment. However, if you get mouth ulcers often or they’re extremely painful, a few treatment options to decrease pain and healing time include:5
- using a rinse of saltwater and baking soda
- topical anesthetic
- applying ice to mouth ulcers
- taking nutritional supplements like folic acid, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and zinc