Mouth ulcers in people can appear for many different reasons, their occurrence is not only related to dental problems. They cause pain and discomfort to a person, making it difficult to eat. In order to eliminate these unpleasant phenomena, ulcers must be treated. In this case, it is extremely important to correctly determine the cause of the onset of the disease. It is required to carry out effective treatment in combination with systemic therapy of the underlying disease. In this article, we will learn about the causes of ulcers, as well as find out how they should be treated.
Aphthous stomatitis
Loss of the mucosa, and in addition, soft tissues in the mouth, which is accompanied by the formation of an ulcer in the mouth (in an adult and a child) of various sizes, is associated with a number of local pathologies and injuries. The appearance of recurrent aphthous stomatitis manifests itself in the form of small ulcerations of the mucosa, which periodically occur and are painful. The following manifestations are typical for aphthous stomatitis:
- Outwardly, mouth ulcers are round and up to seven millimeters in diameter, without undermined edges, the affected areas are surrounded by a yellow effusion and a red rim.
- Ulcers are localized on the mucous membrane of the lips or cheeks, and in addition, on the transitional fold, on the tongue and its frenulum, hard or soft palate.
- Risk factors are disruption of the digestive system along with colitis and gastritis. In addition, stress in combination with nervous disorders, mechanical microtrauma of the mucosa can provoke a relapse. For women, menstruation may be the cause.
- Against the backdrop of a favorable course of the disease, ulcers heal within a week. In more severe forms, a large area may be affected, due to which the healing process will be extended for a month. Relapses are often noted in the winter-spring season, it happens that there are no periods of remission at all. Permanent injury can cause small ulcers to turn into large ones.
Stomatitis herpetiformis
Against the background of herpetiform stomatitis, the sores develop small, but numerous and resemble a herpetic mucosal lesion.
In this case, the disease has the following manifestations:
- Outwardly, mouth ulcers do not have clear boundaries, they have a gray base, they are covered in the center with a white film.
- Localized at the bottom of the mouth and lower surface of the tongue.
- Risk factors mainly include young people under thirty years of age, as well as women with reduced immunity.
- Typically healing of white sores in the mouthoccurs without scarring in ten days.
Fungal stomatitis
What is this disease? Similar ulcers, which are covered with a white film, can form in children against the background of fungal stomatitis. Ulcers in the oral cavity appear with recurrent periadenitis and have a specific form. This disease is characterized by the formation of seals under the mucosa, which after some time can be replaced by deep painful ulcers that prevent a person from eating or speaking. In this case, the disease has the following manifestations:
- Externally, the ulcers have compacted raised edges, the recess of which is filled with infiltrate. The size of each ulcer does not exceed one centimeter.
- Ulcers are localized on the lateral surfaces of the tongue, lips and buccal mucosa.
- Most often this type of disease occurs among women. Sometimes it can form due to complications of the fibrinous form of aphthous stomatitis.
- The disease proceeds for a long time and in waves. Ulcers may not heal for months, forming deforming scars. Relapses in this case can last for years, and there are always at least two aphthae in the mouth, and during periods of exacerbations their total number can reach ten.
What are other causes of mouth ulcers (photos of some are shown in this article)?
Afty Bednar
What do they look like? This type of pathology is a traumatic erosion of the mucosa. In this case, the disease has the following manifestations:
- Outwardly ulcers inmouth covered with persistent yellow coating. The affected areas have rounded ulcerations with clear boundaries. The tissues are slightly hyperemic.
- The ulcers are localized in the sky, closer to the midline.
- Risk factors include babies. Ulcers form due to mechanical trauma to the palate or poor oral hygiene. It rarely happens in older children. In premature babies, as well as in those who have pathologies, this phenomenon is observed more often.
- Healing of ulcers in the mouth is slow, it can take several months, and in case of an unfavorable course, deeper lesions may form at the site of erosion.
Traumatic ulcers
How to distinguish them from other types of ulcers? Injuries to the oral cavity often lead to the development of stomatitis, and their causes are quite diverse, in particular:
- The result of biting the mucosa with the teeth.
- Surface damage with a hard toothbrush.
- Inflicting injury with dental instruments.
- Poor-quality fillings, crowns, prostheses.
- Injury caused by the sharp edges of decaying teeth.
- The effect of a thermal or chemical burn along with exposure to acids, alkali, certain drugs, and the like.
Features of traumatic ulcers
Traumatic ulcers are quite painful and have their own characteristics:
- Outwardly, the ulcers are small in size along with irregularshape, yellowish coating, raised edges and swelling of surrounding tissues.
- Ulcers are localized depending on the location of the injury. Mostly they appear on the mucous membrane of the lips or cheeks, and in addition, on the tongue.
- Among the risk factors are malocclusion along with premature teething, untreated areas in the mouth and bad habits, such as regular biting of the mucous membrane.
- In the event that the traumatic factor is eliminated, ulcers, as a rule, heal quite quickly in just ten days. Exacerbation of inflammation and the development of soreness due to infection cannot be ruled out.
Ulcers as a manifestation of common ailments
In addition to local pathologies, stomatitis and other mucosal diseases, mouth ulcers are typical of a number of common infectious diseases, some of which affect mainly adults, while others, on the contrary, are characteristic of childhood.
Wounds of the oral mucosa can be formed on the background of pulmonary tuberculosis. The tuberculous tubercles that appeared in the mouth are soon replaced by ulcers, which differ in the following characteristic features:
- The ulcers are superficially shallow and gradually increasing in diameter.
- Ulcers have a loose bottom and jagged edges.
- May bleed very often.
- Presence of soreness.
Tuberculosis and syphilis
At the same time, other symptoms that are characteristic of tuberculosis can also be observed in parallel, for example, emaciation along withwith fatigue, fever, sweating and coating of the tongue. The formation of ulcers in the oral cavity is also accompanied by syphilis. Against the background of this disease, they appear almost immediately after the end of the incubation period. Mouth ulcers associated with primary syphilis have the following features:
- No soreness.
- Ulcers are round or oval.
- The bottom of the affected areas is bright red, sometimes with a gray coating, while the edges of the ulcers are even and slightly raised.
- Specific infiltrate.
- Such ulcers heal from three weeks to several months, scarring may not always occur.
In the presence of tertiary syphilis, ulcers often bleed, are slightly painful, while the infiltrate is quite powerful and dense, the affected areas heal longer with the formation of star-shaped scars.
Necrotizing Gingivostomatitis
Acute gingivostomatitis is a disease of a viral nature, usually this pathology develops against the background of a decrease in immunity, and in addition, due to overwork, hypothermia and due to injuries of the oral mucosa. Also, this disease can be a complication of other viral infections. Most often, gingivostomatitis occurs in men under thirty years of age.
The disease is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Appearance of swelling, soreness and bleeding of the mucosa.
- Clouding of the epithelium of the gums, the appearance of yellow plaque along the edge.
- Ulcer formation withuneven edges, and in addition, a loose bleeding bottom. As a rule, ulcers are covered with an easily removed greenish coating.
- Presence of bad breath.
- Increased body temperature, excessive salivation.
Child's mouth ulcers
Many infectious diseases that are characteristic of childhood may be accompanied by ulceration of the oral mucosa. Herpes usually first affects children between the ages of one and three. The disease is characterized by the appearance of numerous papules, after the breakthrough of which red sores are formed, which heal in a couple of weeks.
Chickenpox in the mouth in children can form rashes in the form of pink dots, which later turn into fluid-filled swellings. A rash on the oral mucosa in the form of small white dots, which are surrounded by a red border, is characteristic of the catarrhal stage of measles.
Against the background of scarlet fever, rashes in the mouth are red. With diphtheria of the pharynx, in addition to the formation of ulcers on the mucosa, one can observe its redness with swelling, and a gray coating also appears. Any rash that occurs in the mouth can lead to the formation of deep ulcers. How to treat mouth ulcers?
Therapy of these pathologies
In the event that the lesion of the oral mucosa was caused by some infectious disease, then it is this ailment that is required to be treated first of all. In parallel, it will not be superfluous to carry out symptomatic local therapy of ulcers using medicines, and in addition, recipes from traditional medicine.
Effectivetreatment of mouth ulcers with folk methods.
Treatment with folk remedies
First of all, you should pay attention to rinsing. For these purposes, the following compositions are suitable:
- Five tablets of Furacilin are diluted into two cups of boiling water, then a teaspoon of soda and s alt are added each.
- Using decoctions and infusions from medicinal plants such as chamomile, oak bark, calendula, eucalyptus, walnut leaves, coriander seeds, and so on.
- Use alcohol tincture of calendula.
- The juice of carrots, parsley and cabbage is diluted in half with water.
It is important to note that it is recommended to rinse your mouth with warm solutions. This should be done as often as possible, spitting liquid every half minute and gaining a new portion.
In addition, you can lubricate the affected area with the following means:
- Soda paste with water. The product should have a creamy consistency.
- Sour cream with garlic or onion.
- Grated potatoes. You can also just apply small slices of the root vegetable.
- A paste of purified glycerin combined with powdered turmeric.
- Sea buckthorn oil.
It is recommended, in addition, to drink more fruit juices, refusing carbonated drinks. Chewing basil leaves is also helpful. In the event that treatment with folk methods does not give a tangible result, you need to consult a doctor to clarify the diagnosis and receive the necessary treatment.
Of course, the treatment of ulcers duringmouth is not limited to this.
Medicine use
Medical treatment of ulcers can be local or systemic. Doctors often prescribe mouthwash with antiseptics. The following means are used for this:
- Using sodium bicarbonate solution.
- Cauterization with hydrogen peroxide and Furacilin solution. Caution should be used for these purposes brilliant green.
- Solution "Dexamethasone", "Lidocaine".
- Using tampons that are soaked in vitamin B12.
- Nystatin tablets.
- Prescribing antihistamines, and in addition, desensitizing drugs. In the presence of severe pain, painkillers are prescribed.
Thus, ulcers that are caused by an infectious disease must be treated. The procedure for the treatment of stomatitis, and in addition, erosions and ulcers in the oral cavity is a protracted process that requires the fulfillment of all doctor's prescriptions.
We looked at the causes and treatment of mouth ulcers.
