Don't be late in checking your canker sores

Hermina's friends must have experienced canker sores. This canker sore is often underestimated, even though small canker sores can disrupt the quality of daily life, such as when eating, drinking, talking and even smiling.

Actually, what is meant by canker sores? The canker sores referred to here are wounds on the gums, tongue, or the lining of the mouth in the form of ulcers with a white to gray base and surrounded by reddish inflammation around it. The shape of canker sores can be round or oval with varying numbers and sizes ranging from small, namely 0.5 millimeters to large more than 10 millimeters. Recurrent aphthous stomatitis or what is abbreviated as SAR is the medical name for canker sores.

This canker sore can appear suddenly and is experienced by everyone. However, women, teenagers and children are more often affected. The exact cause of canker sores has not yet been found. However, there are several factors behind the occurrence of canker sores, such as:

-Trauma. The trauma experienced can result from brushing your teeth too hard, the soft tissues of the mouth such as the tongue, the lining of the mouth and the inside of the lips being bitten. Using braces with excessive wire ends, wearing false teeth that are not secure or have sharp parts can also cause canker sores.
-Genetic. Hereditary factors also play a role in the occurrence of canker sores. Someone who has parents who often have canker sores will have canker sores in their children more easily than children whose parents have no history of canker sores.
-Nutritional disorders. Insufficient nutritional intake such as vitamin B complex and vitamin C can make a person susceptible to mouth ulcers, so it is important to maintain a balanced nutritional intake every day.
-Allergy. Someone who has allergies to certain foods or drinks, such as tomatoes, strawberries, chocolate, spicy foods, and even dental materials can cause canker sores.
Stress and anxiety. We often don't realize this feeling, and even a lack of sleep can make someone susceptible to canker sores because the body releases hormones that make inflammation easier.
-Use of drugs. Beta blockers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been reported to cause canker sores.
-Autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases such as Behcet's disease, etc.
-Poor oral hygiene. In the mouth there are good and bad microorganisms that live in balanced numbers, but if oral hygiene conditions are poor, the balance of microorganisms is disturbed, causing inflammation and infection to easily occur which can be the background for canker sores.

Prevention of canker sores can be done by avoiding or eliminating factors that cause canker sores, such as brushing your teeth slowly, eliminating bad habits such as biting your lips or inner cheeks, always maintaining oral hygiene, etc.

Although canker sores can heal on their own, in some cases, canker sores need further treatment, such as:

-Canker sores for more than a week that haven't gone away and still hurt.
-The size of the canker sores is getting bigger or the number is increasing.
-There are flashes and symptoms of fever before the canker sores occur.
-There is a change in consistency to become hard to the point of disrupting the function of the oral cavity

The conditions of canker sores as above, if examined further, can be a sign of a person's physical health condition, for example lack of nutrition or experiencing problems in the digestive tract resulting in reduced nutrient absorption, stress, ongoing trauma, allergies or use of drugs. , allergies, autoimmune diseases that trigger canker sores. If a person is more alert before canker sores occur in the form of wheezing and symptoms of fever, this could indicate that it is not thrush but a sign of a viral infection and this can be contagious. Even canker sores that have not been treated for a long time until the color and consistency changes from rubbery to hard and even interfere with speech function and chewing function, must be immediately consulted, this is because these canker sores can lead to malignancy or cancer in the mouth.

If canker sores are not treated immediately, it will be more difficult to diagnose, the more complicated the treatment will be, the longer the treatment time will be and of course the more expensive the treatment will be. Therefore, immediately check the condition of your canker sores with a dentist, especially a dentist who specializes in oral disease who treats cases of oral disease, especially in the soft tissues of the mouth such as the gums, tongue, lips, and the inner lining of the mouth (mucosa) as a whole.