We all have suffered from ulcers in the mouth at sometimes or other. They are called as oral ulcers, better known as a mouth ulcer. However, they can be painful and extremely troublesome as they interfere with your eating habits.Oral ulcers are one of the most common complaints of the oral mucosa. These ulcers are painful round or oval sores that form in the mouth, most often on the inside of the cheeks or lips. They are usually white, red, yellow or grey in color and are inflamed (red and swollen) around the edge. Although these mouth ulcers can be uncomfortable, especially when you eat, drink or brush your teeth, they are harmless. They are different from cold sores which appear on the outer lips and are caused by virus. Eating becomes next to impossible and whatever little you try to ingest goes down very painfully. Stress has a big role to play on these ulcers appearing inside the mouth along with malnutrition.
Oral ulcers are characterized by a loss of the mucosal layer within the mouth. This loss may be acute or chronic, localized or diffuse. This is one of the most common oral problems presenting in primary care and can arise as a result of a number of disorders. Some of these relate to problems around the oropharynx but there is a wide variety of systemic disorders that can also give rise to these lesions.
These Oral ulcers are also known as Mouth ulcers, Canker Sores, Aphthous ulcer or recurrent oral ulceration.
A mouth ulcer is a lesion that occurs on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. They are breaks in the tissue lining of your mouth, often along the base of the gums or inside the cheeks or lips, but can form in the floor of mouth or on the tongue. They can be painful, annoying and sometimes embarrassing interfering with eating, drinking, brushing and even talking. The pain from a mouth ulcer is caused because the nerves just below the surface of the lining of the mouth become exposed. Luckily most mouth ulcers are easy to treat.
These mouth ulcers are very common, particularly in women and young adults. Most people have one or two year. However, some people have mouth ulcers that come back regularly.
Main Causes of Oral Ulcers
Local Trauma:
Aphthous Ulcer:
Thermal Injury:
Chemical Injury:
Systemic Causes of Oral Ulcers
Oral Thrush
Oral Lichen Planus
Mouth Cancer
Other Causes for Oral Ulcers
Burning Mouth Syndrome
Geographic Tongue