Mouth Ulcer Treatment
Mouth ulcers can cause difficulty in eating, drinking and even speaking. No definite cause of mouth ulcers has been identified. However, certain triggers and factors have been proposed.
What conditions can cause ulcers in the mouth?
- Recurrent mouth ulcers -also known as canker sores -are one of the primary cause of mouth soreness that could result in significant discomfort to the patient.
At occasions, certain systemic diseases such as:
- Blood disorders such as Leukemia, Lymphoma, Neutropenias
- Gastrointestinal disorders such as Celiac, Crohn’s disease
- Skin disorders including Lichen Planus, connective tissue disorders such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Vesiculobullous Diseases such as Pemphigus and Pemphigoid
- Infectious conditions including bacterial viral and fungal infections
- Immune defects such as HIV
- Nutritional deficiencies such as iron, folate and vitamin deficiencies
- Various syndromes such Behcet’s, Reiter’s, PFAPA, Etc.
- Other rare conditions such as Wegener’s Granulomatosis, Sarcoidosis etc.
Although most of the ulcers are painful, in certain situations such as certain mouth cancers, these could be painless. These include ulcers associated with Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Lymphoma, Melanoma, Sarcoma, etc.
How are mouth ulcers treated?
To come to the best treatment plan for your condition, Dr. Saini will go through careful and detailed history and clinical examination including a complete review of systems.
Microbiological and serological investigations might be performed in some cases to reach the correct diagnosis and management of the condition.
On certain occasions, an incisional biopsy could be indicated to establish the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Certain conditions require a multidisciplinary approach involving rheumatologists, dermatologists, immunologist or patient’s family physician.