Winter is coming, and that means that mouth sore season is coming too. But have you heard that there are many varieties of oral sores? One kind of mouth sore is called the canker sore, and we’ve written an overview here for your educational purposes.
Canker sores are small sores that develop inside of the oral cavity, normally on the cheeks or under the tongue, but also on the lips, gums and roof of the oral cavity. Generally activated by low amounts of sleep or high amounts of stress, canker sores usually appear as whitish yellow lesions with a red border. (Numerous patients confuse these sores with cold sores; if the sore is inside your mouth, it’s probably a canker sore, and if it’s outside of your oral cavity, it’s likely a cold sore.)
While canker sores are not transmittable, they’re not exactly fun, and you’ll most likely want to get rid of them as fast as possible since they can be achy. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for canker sores and they have to go away on their own, so you’ll need to trust in your body to work its recuperation magic. While you wait, avoid spicy foods, sharp or extra-crunchy foods and acidic foods. You can also try pain relievers if the pain is too uncomfortable.
If you have many canker sores that aren’t healing, it would be a great idea to contact our dentist in Metairie, Louisiana, at 504-833-4300 to set up your next checkup. Dr. Tre' DeFelice and the staff at DeFelice Dental LLC will be able to examine your oral cavity and see if anything serious is occurring.