Your Epping Dentist knows that sometimes you might have a stinging red or yellow sore inside your mouth – not on your lips, but inside your mouth. That’s likely to be a mouth ulcer from brushing your teeth or where you bit your cheek or tongue. Or, perhaps, a sharp tooth or your dentures nicked your cheek.
One-off ulcers like this are not a problem – they heal quickly once the injury stops occurring.
Sometimes, these mouth ulcers return in usually healthy children and young adults. This is unpleasant and a nuisance but otherwise not a problem as they are not infectious.
It is also possible to get clusters of small ulcers on your lips, tongue, and gums, or more rarely, as many as 100 tiny stinging ones for one to two weeks. A single large ulcer growing near your tonsils would be more painful, especially for swallowing.
If any ulcer lasts for more than three weeks, come to us at your Epping Dentist to have it checked out. Be sure to let us know if you get ulcers elsewhere, such as near your eyes or genitals.
That is important as mouth ulcers can result from other diseases, and sometimes, they are the only symptom. Mouth cancer, for instance, often first presents as a non-healing ulcer on or under the tongue, although it is mostly associated with drinking and heavy smoking.
Don’t worry about passing a mouth ulcer onto someone else! That’s not how it works.
But do see us if you suffer from them regularly – most especially if they last more than three weeks or you are unwell – so we can investigate. Smoothing off a tooth may be the only thing required, but if we can’t find the cause, we may refer you to a specialist.
And of course, you can help yourself! Keep your mouth clean and healthy, include fresh fruit and veggies in your diet, and avoid a poor-quality toothbrush. As we always check on your mouth health, regular visits to us at your Epping Dentist will also help with these unpleasant possibilities!
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