Why do I get canker sores and how can I prevent them?

Question

I brush my teeth every morning and every night using a soni care electrice tooth brush and I use mouth wash. I also go to the dentist at least every 3 months for a dental cleaning. I had braces all through my teens years. I get canker sores every three months or so on my upper and lower gums. Why do I get them? And how can I prevent them

Answer 1

Canker sores just suck. They don't know what causes them though they think there's a bacterial or viral component (specifically the epstein-barr virus). Different things can cause them. For some people it's acid from fruit juice that causes canker sores. For others it's stress. For others there's no real cause they just show up.

If you're using mouth wash every day that could be part of the problem. The alcohol in listerine, scope, ect can actually dry your soft tissue out and causes some people to get sores.

There are medicaitons your dentist can give you to make the sores less painful, but they won't really prevent them or help them go away faster.

I've actually heard from patients that smoking a cigarette causes the epithelium to react by keratinizing. What that means is that if you smoke one, your gums toughen up and the sore goes away sooner. Don't know if I'd go so far as to recommend smoking just to get rid of a canker sore.

An at home remedy (other than lighting up) is to put Bactine (the stuff for scrapes and scratches from Wallgreens) on a Q-tip. Put that on the sore. It burns like crazy for a few seconds. It has numbing stuff in it to make the sore feel better. It's also anti-bacterial. Usually by the next day the sore is much improved.

People confuse them a lot with cold sores. That's the one that the doctor will prescribe valtrex (acyclovir) or zovirax to help prevent. There is no over the counter or prescription medication specifically for canker sores

Answer 2

You can't exactly prevent them...Canker sores are caused by the herpes virus. Almost everyone in the US has a variation of herpes. Canker sores are the most common. When you have an outbreak of canker sores, the only thing you can really do is treat them. Try swishing your mouth with a solution of peroxide and water twice daily. This will cause the sore to go away faster. There is also a numbing medication you can purchase at a drug store.

Answer 3

Stress can trigger getting these. Canker sores may run in families, but they aren't contagious. Doctors don't know what causes canker sores, but they may be triggered by stress, poor nutrition, food allergies and menstrual periods.

Some people think that sucking on zinc lozenges, taking vitamin C or vitamin B complex, using a sage-and-chamomile mouthwash or taking a lysine supplement helps their canker sores heal faster.

Answer 4

Ok, here's what you do. AS SOON as you feel one coming on, take an ice cube and put it on there for a few seconds at a time. Keep doing that for about 10 minutes. Don't cause pain...you just want to freeze the virus. Yes, it is actually from a virus. Just like a cold. Some people get them all the time. The dentist I work for has a gel she prescribes for people like that, but she swears by the ice cube trick. If it's already there, dab some Peroxyl on it with a cotton swab. You can get that at the drug store.

Answer 5

I don't think anyone really knows why you get canker sores. Could be do to stress, eating acidity foods, changed toothpaste there could be a lot of reasons

Answer 6

You could be possibly using too hard of a bristle(?) or too strong of a mouth wash.You could also have a zinc deficiency, you could try an oral or tablet supplement, at least 25-30 mg, daily, for a couple of weeks, should show a difference.

Answer 7

It is a virus...you can get medication from your doctor to prevent these sores.

Answer 8

i get then too my doctor told me that its from a new surge of chemicals in your body. if you gargle with salt water and try not to talk a lot then it will calm down. it can also come from braces which is the main reason why i get them due to all of the metal in my mouth.

Answer 9

it's not just because you brush your teeth everyday!!
it's because of the temperature wise.....make sure to drink water when you feel your mouth is dry....especially at this season!! summer...and sometimes you can get it to during winter!!!