Canker sore

[Laura86]

Apologies for gross photo..
I have a canker sore inside my lower lip (top right in photo) that has been there for about a week. I was wondering how long it takes canker sores to heal/go?
I have been rinsing once a day with warm salty water for the last 4 days and have now gone up to twice a day. It now doesn’t hurt unless I aggravate it (either with spicy/salty foods, strong toothpaste or knocking it with the toothbrush), and the sting is a bit less than it originally was, but I’m not really seeing much improvement in terms of the sore disappearing. I have no bleeding or swelling from the sore or in any other part of my mouth.
Is this something I should be worried about, or is there a better method than salt water rinsing for getting rid of it?
Thanks so much!

 

[melisa]

Apologies for gross photo..
I have a canker sore inside my lower lip (top right in photo) that has been there for about a week. I was wondering how long it takes canker sores to heal/go?
I have been rinsing once a day with warm salty water for the last 4 days and have now gone up to twice a day. It now doesn’t hurt unless I aggravate it (either with spicy/salty foods, strong toothpaste or knocking it with the toothbrush), and the sting is a bit less than it originally was, but I’m not really seeing much improvement in terms of the sore disappearing. I have no bleeding or swelling from the sore or in any other part of my mouth.
Is this something I should be worried about, or is there a better method than salt water rinsing for getting rid of it?
Thanks so much!

I had one inside of my lower lip a few weeks ago, I irritated that zone because I can only eat with my front teeth because some dental extractions that are still healing. I don't remember how long stayed there but I'm sure it was a week or more... I irritated it one day with my brush and it kind of peel itself a little bit, and after a few days it begun to dissapear.

I'm not a dentist but I wouldn't be worried after a week ?

 

[krlovesherkids777]

I'm not a dentist either. I do remember recently seeing and hearing that the water laser some dentists carry does help with canker sores. The receptionist at my clinic was telling me her personal experience w it .

 

[Gordon]

The old dentist joke was that if you treat them they take a fortnight to heal and if you don't they took 2 weeks...
The water laser can be incredibly effective at treating them but not many dentists have one.

If you can get hold of some Difflam, either spray or rinse, then that helps to reduce the symptoms a bit. Otherwise I'm afraid it's a case of waiting for it to get better.

Do you get them regularly? They're very common when you're stressed, a bit rundown or if you're a lady they tend to go with your monthly cycle, if so then a bit of prevention can be a good idea, see our other thread about Vit B12, Folic acid. Basically eat a lot more fresh vegetables especially cauliflower, broccoli and sprouts. Another culprit is the foamy stuff they put in toothpaste, SLS. Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. Colgate paste used to be quite high in SLS so avoid that if you can.

I used to have a patient who was quite a famous TV presenter and radio host, he used to get the most horrific ulcers before a big TV event or similar. In his case they were clearly stress related but he wasn't prepared to give up his career over them

 

[Laura86]

Thanks so much! I don’t get these canker sores regularly, hence why I had little idea of what to do about it. Glad to hear it should heal soon. Thanks again