What Causes Mouth Ulcers and How to Treat Them

By | March 17, 2022

Mouth ulcers — also known as canker sores — are normally small, painful lesions that develop in your mouth or at the base of your gums. They can make eating, drinking, and talking uncomfortable.

Women, adolescents, and people with a family history of mouth ulcers are at higher risk for developing mouth ulcers.

Mouth ulcers aren’t contagious and usually go away within one to two weeks. However, if you get a canker sore that is large or extremely painful, or if it lasts for a long time without healing, you should seek the advice of a doctor.

What triggers mouth ulcers?

There is no definite cause behind mouth ulcers. However, certain factors and triggers have been identified. These include:

  • minor mouth injury from dental work, hard brushing, sports injury, or accidental bite
  • toothpastes and mouth rinses that contain sodium lauryl sulfate
  • food sensitivities to acidic foods like strawberries, citrus, and pineapples, and other trigger foods like chocolate and coffee
  • lack of essential vitamins, especially B-12, zinc, folate, and iron
  • allergic response to mouth bacteria
  • dental braces
  • hormonal changes during menstruation
  • emotional stress or lack of sleep
  • bacterial, viral, or fungal infections

Mouth ulcers also can be a sign of conditions that are more serious and require medical treatment, such as:

  • celiac disease (a condition in which the body is unable to tolerate gluten)
  • inflammatory bowel disease
  • diabetes mellitus
  • Behcet’s disease (a condition that causes inflammation throughout the body)
  • a malfunctioning immune system that causes your body to attack the healthy mouth cells instead of viruses and bacteria
  • HIV/AIDs
What Causes Mouth Ulcers and How to Treat Them