Mouth Ulcers and Mouth Sores (Oral Ulcers)
A mouth ulcer is any open, raw sore on the inside of your mouth, and almost everyone gets one sooner or later. You feel it every time you eat, talk, or brush. Most mouth sores are harmless and heal on their own in a week or two. This page helps you figure out which kind you probably have and what to do about it.
A mouth ulcer is any open sore on the lining of the mouth. Most are canker sores or small injuries, aren't contagious, and heal on their own in 1 to 2 weeks. Viral sores like cold sores and hand, foot, and mouth disease do spread. Rinse with salt water, try a numbing gel, and avoid spicy, crunchy foods. See a dentist for any sore lasting over 2 weeks.
Not sure this is what you have? Answer five quick questions in our mouth spot checker. It compares what you see with more than 40 common conditions and tells you how soon to have it looked at.
- What mouth ulcers look like
- Which mouth sore is it?
- What causes mouth ulcers
- Canker sore vs. cold sore vs. injury
- Tongue sores
- Blood blisters in the mouth
- Other mouth blisters
- Sores linked to other health conditions
- Chemo mouth sores and mucositis
- Symptoms to pay attention to
- How long mouth ulcers last
- How to heal a mouth ulcer at home
- Over-the-counter treatment
- What a dentist can do
- Prevention
- Kids, pregnancy, dentures and braces
- When to see a dentist
- FAQ
What do mouth ulcers look like?
An ulcer is a spot where the thin top layer of the mouth lining has worn away. Most look like a shallow crater with:
- A white, gray, or yellow center. That film is fibrin, part of normal healing. It isn't pus and it won't wipe away.
- A red, puffy ring around the edge.
- Soreness that's worse with salty, acidic, or spicy food, and when something rubs it.
Some mouth sores start as a blister first, either clear or dark red, and then break open into an ulcer. Where the sore is, whether it started as a blister, and how many there are tell us a lot about the cause.
Which mouth sore is it? Start with where it is
Dentists sort mouth sores by location first. The soft, moveable lining (inner lips, cheeks, under and along the tongue, soft palate) behaves differently from tissue that's tightly attached to bone (the gums around your teeth and the hard roof of your mouth). Canker sores favor soft lining. Herpes sores inside the mouth favor the gums and hard palate. Use the map as a starting point, not a diagnosis.
What causes mouth ulcers? A quick sorting table
The two big causes are canker sores and plain injuries, like a cheek bite or a scrape from a chip. Together they account for most of the mouth sores we see. The table below covers the rest, roughly from most to least common, with a link to a full page for each one.
| Likely cause | What it looks like | Clues | Contagious? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canker sore | 1 to a few round, white-yellow sores with a red ring on soft lining | Comes and goes for years, often with stress or minor injury. Full canker sore guide. | No |
| Injury (traumatic ulcer) | A single sore, often irregular, right where something rubs | Bite, sharp tooth, broken filling, braces, denture, hard food. Heals once the cause is fixed. | No |
| Burn | Peeling, raw patch, often on the roof of the mouth | Hot pizza or coffee, or a chemical burn from aspirin or strong peroxide held against the tissue | No |
| Cold sore virus inside the mouth | Clusters of tiny blisters that pop into small sores, mostly on gums or hard palate | Tingling first. Same virus as lip cold sores. Cold sores and oral herpes. | Yes |
| Hand, foot, and mouth disease or herpangina | Many small sores toward the back of the mouth | Mostly young kids, with fever. HFMD adds spots on palms and soles. Hand, foot, and mouth disease. | Yes |
| Blood blister | Dark red or purple blister that bursts into a raw spot | Often right after eating, usually on the soft palate or a bitten spot | No |
| Medication reaction | One or more sores that started after a new drug | NSAIDs, some heart and blood pressure drugs, methotrexate, some cancer drugs, bisphosphonate pills that dissolve in the mouth | No |
| Oral lichen planus | Lacy white lines with red, raw areas, often on both cheeks | Flares and settles for months to years. Oral lichen planus. | No |
| Chemo or radiation mucositis | Red, raw, widespread soreness and ulcers | Starts during cancer treatment. See mucositis below. | No |
| Gum infection | Punched-out, gray-topped sores on the gum points between teeth | Bleeding gums, strong bad breath, pain. Trench mouth (necrotizing gingivitis). | Not in the usual sense |
| A condition elsewhere in the body | Varies: canker-like sores, painless palate sores, blisters | Gut, joint, skin, eye, or genital symptoms too. See below. | Depends on cause |
| Oral cancer (uncommon) | A sore that doesn't heal, often with firm or raised edges, or a red or white patch | Often painless early. Side of tongue and floor of mouth are common spots. Signs of oral cancer. | No |
Vitamin and mineral shortfalls can sit behind several of these. Low iron, vitamin B12, folate, or zinc make some people more prone to recurring ulcers, and a simple blood test can check.
Canker sore vs. cold sore vs. injury: how to tell common mouth sores apart
These three cover the large majority of mouth sores, so it's worth knowing the differences. Only one of them is contagious.
| Canker sore | Cold sore inside the mouth | Injury ulcer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts as | An open sore | Tiny fluid-filled blisters that pop | An open sore after a bite, scrape, or rub |
| Where | Soft lining: inner lips, cheeks, tongue, soft palate | Gums and hard palate mostly | Wherever the injury happened |
| How many | 1 to 5, sometimes clusters | A cluster of small sores that can merge | Usually one |
| Cause | Immune reaction plus triggers | Herpes simplex virus | Physical damage |
| Contagious? | No | Yes | No |
| Heals in | 7–14 days | About 7–10 days | About 1–2 weeks once the cause is fixed |
| What helps | Protective paste, numbing gel, prescription steroid gel | Antiviral medicine, started early | Remove the cause: smooth the tooth, adjust the denture, wax the braces |
Tongue sores and ulcers on the tongue
The tongue gets bitten, scraped, and burned more than any other part of the mouth, so a sore on the tongue is very common. The usual suspects:
- A bite or rub. A sore on the side of the tongue next to a broken tooth, sharp filling edge, or rough crown. These keep coming back until the edge is smoothed.
- Canker sores on the tip, sides, or underside. Sores on the tip hurt with every word.
- Burns from hot drinks, usually on the tip and the front of the top surface.
- Inflamed taste buds ("lie bumps"): small, tender white or red bumps that go away in a day or two. They aren't ulcers.
Patchy red areas that move around from week to week usually aren't ulcers at all. That's often geographic tongue, which is harmless.
An ulcer on the side of the tongue that hasn't healed in 2 weeks, especially one that's firm, painless, or has a raised edge, needs to be looked at. The side of the tongue is one of the more common places for oral cancer to start. Most tongue sores are nothing of the sort, but this is the spot where we never like to wait and see.
How to get rid of a mouth ulcer on the tongue
The tongue moves constantly, so patches and pastes don't stay put. What works better: an ice chip held against the sore, a numbing gel dabbed on 10 to 15 minutes before meals, salt-water rinses, and chewing on the other side. If a tooth edge is rubbing it, the sore usually won't heal until we smooth or repair that tooth.
Blood blister in the mouth or on the tongue
A blood blister in the mouth is a dark red or purple bubble filled with blood. It usually pops up suddenly, often while you're eating, and can look alarming. Most are harmless.
Blood blister in mouth: common causes
- Biting or pinching the tissue, especially the cheek or the side of the tongue.
- Hard, sharp, or very hot food like chips, crusty bread, or hot pizza.
- Dental work, including a numbing injection or a suction device.
- Angina bullosa haemorrhagica (ABH). That long name describes harmless blood blisters that appear quickly, usually on the soft palate toward the back of the mouth, often during a meal. They tend to happen in middle-aged and older adults. Long-term use of a steroid inhaler has been linked to them in some people. The blister usually breaks within minutes to hours and leaves a raw spot that heals in a few days without a scar. People with ABH don't have a bleeding disorder.
- Low platelets or blood thinners. Less often, blood blisters show up because the blood isn't clotting well.
Blood blister on the tongue
Almost always a bite. It usually drains on its own within a day or so and heals in about a week. Leave it alone and keep it clean with salt-water rinses.
What to do with a blood blister
- Don't pop it. Let it break on its own. Popping it raises the chance of infection and makes it sorer.
- Once it opens, rinse with warm salt water a few times a day and eat soft, cool food until it heals.
- A large blister at the back of the mouth can feel like something stuck in your throat. If it's making it hard to swallow or breathe, get help right away.
- If blood blisters show up without any injury, or come with bleeding gums, easy bruising, nosebleeds, or tiny red dots on the skin, call your physician the same day to get a blood count. Rarely, this is a sign of low platelets or a blood disorder such as leukemia.
Other mouth blisters and what they mean
Mouth blisters that aren't bloody tend to come from a short list:
- Cold sore virus. Clusters of tiny clear blisters that break within a day. Young children having their first herpes infection can get many sores at once, with fever and swollen, bleeding gums.
- Hand, foot, and mouth disease and herpangina in kids.
- A mucocele. A soft, bluish, fluid-filled bump, usually on the inside of the lower lip, from a blocked or injured saliva gland. It's a bubble, not an ulcer. See our mucocele page.
- Burns can blister before they peel.
- Autoimmune blistering diseases like pemphigus and mucous membrane pemphigoid. They're rare. The blisters break quickly, so what you see is raw, peeling patches, often on the gums, that don't heal. Read about autoimmune mouth blisters.
Mouth sores linked to other health conditions
Sometimes the mouth is where a whole-body condition shows up first, or most obviously. The sores themselves can look a lot like ordinary canker sores. The difference is usually in the pattern: they're bigger, more frequent, they started in adulthood, or they come with symptoms somewhere else.
A dentist can notice these patterns and treat the mouth, but we don't diagnose these diseases. Your physician does, with blood tests, biopsies, scopes, or other testing. Our job is to document what we see, keep you comfortable, and get you to the right person. Our autoimmune and systemic conditions overview has more.
| Condition | What the mouth may show | Other clues to mention to your doctor |
|---|---|---|
| Lupus | Sores or red patches, often on the hard palate, sometimes painless | Joint pain, rash, fatigue, sun sensitivity |
| Crohn's disease | Canker-like or long, line-shaped ulcers in the cheek folds, swollen lips or gums | Belly pain, diarrhea, weight loss |
| Celiac disease | Recurring canker-like sores; enamel defects in kids | Bloating, diarrhea, anemia, poor growth |
| Behçet's disease | Painful canker-like ulcers that come back again and again | Genital sores, eye redness or pain, skin bumps |
| HIV | Large or slow-healing ulcers, thrush, unusual infections | Repeated infections, fevers, weight loss |
| Shingles | Painful blisters and sores on one side only, stopping at the midline | Burning or tingling first, rash on the same side of the face |
| Pemphigus or pemphigoid | Raw, peeling gums and patches that don't heal | Blisters on the skin or eyes |
If you've had large or frequent mouth ulcers along with gut trouble, eye problems, or genital sores, tell your physician about all of it together. Those pieces are easy to miss when they're treated one at a time.
Chemo mouth sores and oral mucositis
Oral mucositis is soreness, redness, and ulcers in the mouth caused by chemotherapy or radiation to the head and neck. These treatments target fast-dividing cells, and the lining of the mouth is full of them. With chemotherapy, chemo mouth sores usually appear about 5 to 10 days after a treatment and settle a couple of weeks later. With radiation, soreness tends to build from about the second or third week and can last several weeks after the last session.
What helps:
- Gentle, regular cleaning. A soft or extra-soft toothbrush, a mild toothpaste, and bland rinses of salt water or baking soda water several times a day.
- No alcohol-based mouthwash, tobacco, or spicy, acidic, rough, or very hot food.
- Keep the mouth moist with sips of water and a saliva substitute if it's dry.
- Ice chips during certain chemotherapy infusions. For some specific drugs, holding ice in the mouth during the infusion lowers the risk of sores. Your oncology team will tell you if this applies to you.
- Prescription rinses and pain control from your cancer team. Some cancer centers also use low-level light therapy (photobiomodulation).
Tell your oncology team right away if you have a fever, can't keep fluids down, or can't eat. During chemo, mouth sores can let infection in. A dental exam before treatment starts lowers the chance of problems along the way. Learn more about dental care before and during head and neck cancer treatment, and about how we work with your physicians in medically complex dental care.
Symptoms that come with mouth ulcers
Most mouth sores cause only local symptoms:
- A burning or tingling spot a day before the sore appears
- Pain with eating, drinking, brushing, or talking
- Stinging with salty, acidic, or spicy foods
- A tender lymph node under the jaw, sometimes
These go beyond a simple ulcer and are worth a call:
- Fever or feeling generally unwell
- Sores on the skin, eyes, hands and feet, or genitals
- Many sores at once, or sores that never fully clear before new ones start
- A sore that's painless but won't go away. Pain isn't a good guide to how serious a sore is.
- Numbness, a lump you can feel, or trouble moving the tongue
How long do mouth ulcers last?
Most mouth ulcers follow the same arc: sore for the first few days, then steadily smaller and less painful, gone by about 2 weeks. The single most useful thing to watch is whether the sore is shrinking.
- Minor canker sores: 7 to 14 days.
- Bites and other injuries: about 1 to 2 weeks once the source of rubbing is gone.
- Cold sores inside the mouth: about 7 to 10 days.
- Burns: about a week.
- Blood blisters: a few days to a week after they break.
- Large (major) canker sores: several weeks, and they may scar.
How to heal a mouth ulcer faster at home
People search for how to cure mouth ulcers fast naturally, and the honest answer is that nothing makes one disappear overnight. You can ease the pain, protect the sore, and keep from making it worse, which lets it heal on schedule. That's what these steps do.
Day 1 and 2
- Look for a cause you can fix. Run your tongue over nearby teeth. A sharp edge, broken filling, rubbing denture, or poking wire will keep reopening the sore. Call us to get it smoothed or adjusted. Cover braces with orthodontic wax in the meantime.
- Ice it. Let an ice chip melt slowly against the spot. It numbs and calms the swelling.
- Take a regular pain reliever if you need one, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as the label directs. Swallow it. Never hold aspirin against the sore, because it causes a chemical burn.
Days 2 through 7
- Rinse 3 or 4 times a day with warm salt water (½ teaspoon of salt in a cup of water) or baking soda water (1 teaspoon in ½ cup). Swish and spit.
- Numb it before meals with an over-the-counter gel, 10 to 15 minutes ahead.
- Cover it with a protective paste or patch if it's on the lip or cheek. Dry the spot with a cotton swab first so it sticks.
- Eat soft, cool, bland food. Yogurt, eggs, oatmeal, pasta, mashed potatoes, smoothies without citrus. Use a straw.
- Skip the stingers: citrus, tomato, pineapple, vinegar, hot sauce, salty snacks, chips, and alcohol-based mouthwash.
- Keep brushing with a soft brush, gently around the sore.
About natural remedies
Honey, aloe, coconut oil, chamomile, and tea bags all have fans. The research behind them is thin. Honey is soothing and fine for adults to try, but never give honey to a baby under 1 year old. Skip anything that burns going on, like straight hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, or salt packed onto the sore.
Mouth ulcer treatment you can buy over the counter
None of these cure a mouth ulcer. The right one can make eating and talking a lot easier while it heals.
| Type | What it does | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
| Numbing gels and liquids (benzocaine, such as Orajel or Anbesol) | Short-term pain relief, handy before meals | Use as the label directs. Never use benzocaine in children under 2. The FDA warns it can cause a rare, dangerous blood condition called methemoglobinemia. |
| Protective pastes, patches, and films | Cover the sore so food and teeth don't rub it | Work well on lips and cheeks. Hard to keep on the tongue. |
| Oxygenating rinses (about 1.5% hydrogen peroxide) | Clean the sore and may ease soreness | Swish and spit. Short-term use only. |
| Alcohol-free antiseptic rinses | Help keep the area clean | Alcohol stings open sores, so check the label. |
| Pain relievers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen) | Overall pain control | Swallow as directed. Pregnant? See the note below on ibuprofen. |
| Docosanol (Abreva) | For cold sores on the lip | Made for the outside of the lip, not ulcers inside the mouth |
What a dentist can do for mouth ulcers
For a single small sore that's clearly healing, you probably don't need us. If a sore is large, keeps coming back, doesn't fit any of the usual patterns, or is keeping you from eating, we can help.
- Figure out what it is. We look at the sore, where it is, and its pattern, and ask about your health, medicines, and what was going on when it started.
- Remove the cause. Smooth a sharp tooth, repair a broken filling, or adjust a denture, night guard, or retainer. For many injury ulcers, that's the whole treatment.
- Prescribe treatment. Prescription steroid gels or rinses for canker sores and some inflammatory conditions, prescription numbing rinses, and antiviral medicine for herpes outbreaks.
- Re-check in 2 weeks. If we've removed the likely cause, we want to see it heal. If it hasn't, the next step is a biopsy.
- Biopsy, or refer you for one. A small tissue sample, read by a pathologist, is the only way to be certain what a persistent sore is. Learn more about our oral medicine and diagnosis visits.
- Coordinate with your physicians. When sores point to something beyond the mouth, we share what we've found with your doctor and suggest bloodwork for iron, B12, folate, and other levels where it makes sense.
Every checkup includes a look at the soft tissues of the mouth, not just the teeth. That routine oral cancer screening is a chance to point out any sore you've noticed.
How to prevent mouth ulcers
You can't prevent every mouth sore, but you can cut down on the common ones.
- Get sharp edges fixed. Chipped teeth, rough fillings, and worn dentures cause a lot of repeat sores.
- Use a soft toothbrush and don't scrub.
- Try an SLS-free toothpaste if you get canker sores often. Sodium lauryl sulfate, a foaming agent, seems to trigger them in some people.
- Slow down with hard, sharp, and very hot foods. Fewer bitten cheeks and burns.
- Wear a mouthguard for contact sports.
- Use SPF lip balm if you get cold sores. Sun can set them off.
- Ask about bloodwork if you get frequent sores, to check iron, B12, folate, and zinc.
- Don't use tobacco. It's the biggest controllable risk for oral cancer, along with heavy drinking.
Mouth ulcers in kids, pregnancy, dentures and braces
Babies and children
Kids get canker sores and bite injuries like adults do, but they also catch the viral causes. Fever with many mouth sores in a young child usually means hand, foot, and mouth disease, herpangina, or a first herpes infection. The big risk is dehydration, because it hurts to drink. Offer cold fluids, popsicles, and soft foods, and give children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen as the label directs for their age and weight. Don't use benzocaine products in children under 2, including for teething. Call your pediatrician if your child is refusing to drink, has fewer wet diapers, or seems very sick.
Pregnancy
Salt-water rinses, ice, and protective pastes are simple first choices. Acetaminophen is generally the preferred pain reliever in pregnancy. The FDA advises avoiding ibuprofen and other NSAIDs from about 20 weeks on unless your doctor recommends them. Ask your OB or pharmacist before using medicated gels.
Dentures and braces
A denture sore spot is one of the most common mouth ulcers we see. It usually means the denture needs an adjustment or a reline. Leave the denture out as much as you can and call us rather than putting up with it for weeks. Read more about denture care and fit. With braces, cover the wire or bracket that's rubbing with orthodontic wax and let your orthodontist know.
Weakened immune system
If you're on chemotherapy, take transplant or other immune-suppressing medicines, or have HIV, mouth sores can be larger, slower to heal, or caused by infections that don't usually bother other people. Get new sores looked at promptly instead of waiting the usual 2 weeks.
When to see a dentist about a mouth ulcer
Make an appointment if:
- A sore hasn't healed in 2 weeks
- It's larger than about 1 cm (⅜ inch), growing, or has firm or raised edges
- You keep getting new sores before the old ones heal
- It sits beside a sharp tooth, broken filling, denture, or appliance
- You have a red or white patch along with the sore
- Sores started after a new medicine
Get care quickly or today if:
- You have a high fever, feel very sick, or have sores on the eyes, skin, or genitals
- You or your child can't drink enough fluids
- A blister or swelling is making it hard to swallow or breathe (go to the ER)
- Blood blisters appear with easy bruising, nosebleeds, or bleeding gums
- You're on chemotherapy or otherwise immunocompromised and have new mouth sores with a fever
- Painful swelling of the face or jaw suggests an infection. See our emergency dental care page.
Mouth ulcer FAQ
What causes mouth ulcers?
Most mouth ulcers are canker sores or injuries from biting, sharp teeth, braces, dentures, or hard or hot food. Other causes include the cold sore virus, hand, foot, and mouth disease in kids, certain medications, oral lichen planus, and chemotherapy or radiation. Less often, frequent sores are linked to low iron or B12, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, Behçet's disease, or lupus. A sore that won't heal can rarely be oral cancer, which is why sores lasting over 2 weeks get checked.
Are mouth ulcers contagious?
Most aren't. Canker sores, bite injuries, burns, blood blisters, and medication sores can't spread to anyone. Sores caused by viruses can: cold sores (herpes simplex), hand, foot, and mouth disease, and herpangina. If a sore started as a cluster of tiny blisters, or came with fever, avoid kissing and sharing cups until it heals.
How do you cure mouth ulcers fast naturally?
There's no natural or medical cure that makes a mouth ulcer vanish overnight. What does help: ice chips, warm salt-water or baking soda rinses 3 or 4 times a day, soft and bland food, and fixing anything sharp that's rubbing the sore. Honey is soothing for adults but has limited evidence and should never be given to babies under 1. A prescription steroid gel from a dentist, started early, is often the fastest route for canker sores.
How do I get rid of a mouth ulcer on the tongue?
Hold an ice chip on it, dab a numbing gel on before meals, rinse with salt water, and chew on the other side. Check whether a sharp tooth or filling is rubbing the spot, because the sore usually won't heal until that edge is smoothed. An ulcer on the side of the tongue that lasts more than 2 weeks, or feels firm, should be examined.
What do mouth ulcers look like?
Most look like a shallow, round or oval crater with a white, gray, or yellow center and a red ring. Some start as small clear blisters or a dark red blood blister and then break open. The location and pattern help tell them apart: canker sores sit on the soft lining, while herpes sores inside the mouth tend to cluster on the gums and hard palate.
How long do mouth ulcers last?
Most heal in 7 to 14 days. Injury ulcers heal in about 1 to 2 weeks once the cause is removed, and burns in about a week. Large canker sores can take several weeks. Any mouth ulcer that's still there after 2 weeks should be checked by a dentist.
What causes a blood blister in the mouth?
Most blood blisters in the mouth come from biting the cheek or tongue, or from hard, sharp, or very hot food. A harmless condition called angina bullosa haemorrhagica causes sudden blood blisters, usually on the soft palate during a meal, that break and heal within days. Rarely, blood blisters that show up without injury are a sign of low platelets or a blood disorder, especially if you also bruise easily or have bleeding gums. That needs a same-day call to your physician.
Is a mouth ulcer the same as a canker sore?
A canker sore is one type of mouth ulcer, and the most common type. "Mouth ulcer" means any open sore in the mouth, so it also covers bite injuries, burns, viral sores, and sores from medical conditions. Our canker sore page covers that one condition in depth.
Can a mouth ulcer be cancer?
Rarely. Oral cancer can look like an ulcer that doesn't heal, often with firm or raised edges, and it's often painless early on. Most mouth ulcers are not cancer and heal within 2 weeks. If one hasn't healed by then, have it examined. A biopsy is the only way to know for sure.
Why do I keep getting mouth ulcers?
Repeat mouth ulcers are most often recurring canker sores, which run in families and flare with stress, minor injuries, certain foods, or SLS toothpaste. A sharp tooth or poorly fitting denture can also keep causing sores in the same spot. Low iron, B12, folate, or zinc, and conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, or Behçet's disease, are less common causes. If you get them every few weeks, a dental visit and bloodwork can help find a reason.
What helps chemo mouth sores?
Gentle brushing with a soft brush, bland salt-water or baking soda rinses several times a day, and avoiding alcohol mouthwash and spicy, acidic, or rough food all help. Your oncology team may prescribe rinses or pain medicine, and for certain chemotherapy drugs they may have you hold ice chips during the infusion. Call your cancer team right away for fever or if you can't eat or drink.
Should I pop a blister in my mouth?
No. Whether it's a clear blister or a blood blister, let it break on its own. Popping it makes it more painful and raises the chance of infection. Once it opens, rinse with warm salt water and eat soft food until it heals.
When should I worry about a mouth sore?
See a dentist if a sore lasts longer than 2 weeks, is larger than about 1 cm, is growing or firm, keeps coming back, or sits next to a sharp tooth or appliance. Get care the same day for high fever, trouble drinking fluids, sores on the eyes, skin, or genitals, or blood blisters with easy bruising. Trouble swallowing or breathing is an emergency.
Have a mouth sore that won't settle down?
If you're in Jacksonville and a mouth ulcer hasn't healed in 2 weeks, keeps coming back, or just doesn't look like anything you've had before, we're glad to take a look. Dr. Henley sees patients with all kinds of mouth sores and works closely with physicians when a sore points to something bigger.
Related conditions
Sources
- Scully C, Shotts R. ABC of oral health: mouth ulcers and other causes of orofacial soreness and pain. BMJ. 2000;321(7254):162–165.
- Muñoz-Corcuera M, Esparza-Gómez G, González-Moles MA, Bascones-Martínez A. Oral ulcers: clinical aspects. A tool for dermatologists. Part I. Acute ulcers. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2009;34(3):289–294.
- Silva-Cunha JL, et al. Angina bullosa haemorrhagica: a 14-year multi-institutional retrospective study from Brazil and literature review. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2022;27(1):e35–e41.
- Elad S, et al. MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for the management of mucositis secondary to cancer therapy. Cancer. 2020;126(19):4423–4431.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Risk of serious and potentially fatal blood disorder prompts FDA action on oral over-the-counter benzocaine products. 2018.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA recommends avoiding use of NSAIDs in pregnancy at 20 weeks or later because they can result in low amniotic fluid. 2020.
This page is for general education and isn't a diagnosis. Every mouth is different. If you have a sore you're worried about, see your dentist or physician. Photos marked Wikimedia Commons are used under their listed licenses and may have been cropped or resized.