Is this a canker sore?

[MumOfBoys1985]

Hi
On Thursday my 8 year old complained of having a sore bit in his mouth. When he has shown me, he's got a white lump on the inside of his bottom lip which looks red surrounding it. I have googled and it would suggest it's probably a canker sore and there is no need to see a dentist or doctor - iv never seen one before so am only guessing google is correct. I have attached a picture, would our lovely expert dentists agree? Is that the same as an ulcer? Should I be worried? He felt a little feverish a few days ago but generally is fit and well.
On Thursday it looked a little smaller (the white bit) and it seems a bit less white but a bit bigger today. It hurts him to talk and looks sore. Should I be taking him to the dentist? He's not due a check up until end of May and it's the first time he's had this.
Thank you

 

[Sarah77]

Yup! That’s exactly what it is. I used to get them pretty frequently. Don’t worry! It’ll go away soon enough.

 

[MumOfBoys1985]

Thank you. Are they very painful? Iv never had one myself but we've had lots of tears because he says the pain is bad, he's had children's paracemal regularly over the last couple of days following an accident (face and head injury) at school. He has a diagnosis of dyspraxia so has sensory issues so pain is a problem for him at best of times.

Thank you again x

 

[Gordon]

Here in the UK we generally call them apthous ulcers, there can be a variety of reasons why they occur.
Looking at that one, it looks like it's been caused by trauma, catching the gum with the sharp edge of a crisp or cornflake can do it, sometimes over vigorous tooth brushing can do it too.

They are quite painful, especially if stimulated with something like vinegar or lemon juice. There isn't a lot of treatment you can do, small ones like that clear up in a few days, bigger ones can take about a fortnight.

 

[Sarah77]

Yes, they for sure can be! My grandmother used to swear by putting alum powder on them. Tastes terrible but dries them up quickly. Not sure if Gordon would recommend that though

 

[Gordon]

I'd need to google what it was first....

The best answer is what we were taught at Uni. "Treat them and they clear up in 14 days, don't treat them and they clear up in a fortnight"

 

[MumOfBoys1985]

Thank you. I have told him to leave it alone but apparently that's made him want to fiddle with it even more as apparently he has to check its still there. Boys!

 

[Sarah77]

If you read my recent post that’s me as a 46 year old woman