Why treat mouth ulcer?

Although mouth ulcers will disappear eventually by themselves, they can cause a lot of pain and discomfort and it takes a while for them to heal. Especially when you have mouth ulcers occasionally and they keep returning throughout the year.

Why treat mouth ulcers?

Mouth ulcers cause a lot of pain and discomfort
Can interfere in your daily activities (eating, drinking, speaking, etc)
Mouth ulcers can be embarrassing
The mouth ulcer can get infected or get more damaged
Takes a long time to heal

When to see your doctor or dentist?

Although mouth ulcers are not damaging to your health in some cases they can be a sign of an infection or impending disease.

If the mouth ulcers have not disappeared after two weeks
If you often have problems with mouth ulcers
If you think that your mouth ulcers are caused by your medication
If the mouth ulcer starts to bleed
When you have a sudden outbreak of mouth ulcers accompanied with a fever
If you think that your mouth ulcers are caused by poorly fitted dentures

Facts about mouth ulcer

There are a lot of misconceptions about mouth ulcer, here are the most common listed below:

Mouth ulcers are not damaging to your health
Mouth ulcers are not contagious
Mouth ulcers are not caused by a virus or bacteria
Mouth ulcers only appear on the inside of the mouth
There is no cure for mouth ulcers available yet
Some people are more prone to getting mouth ulcers
The cause of mouth ulcers is still not thoroughly understood

Duration

Depending on the type and size of the mouth ulcer, it may take a longer time to heal.

Type of ROU	Symptoms	Duration
Minor ulcer	1 to 5 mouth ulcers with a diameter of 3mm to a maximum of 10mm	7 to 14 days
Major ulcer	1 or 2 mouth ulcers with a diameter of 10mm and more	14 to 30+ days
Herpetiform ulcer	5 up to 100 mouth ulcers with a diameter of 1 to 3mm, appear in cluster or tend to form one large mouth ulcer	7 to 14 days