Learn all you have to know about canker sore

 

What is an ulcer and what does it look like? What is the best treatment available, and what is the difference between them all?

I just recently treated a patients for a dental cleaning, and before I started the prophy or most commonly known as the teeth cleaning, she mentioned to me she had a sore that had been creating a lot of pain for the last 7 days that caused her pain and discomfort on her upper lip. I quickly looked at the sore and notice that it was an ulcer. I recommended treating the ulcer with the dental laser. After the patient accepted, I started the procedure, which was quick and painless. The patient was extremely happy and was pleased with how fast the procedure was.
According to current research from oral pathology for the dental hygienist (forth edition). (Ibsen and phelan) Aphthous ulcers also known as “canker sores” frequently occurs in three different forms of episodes. Here they are:

• Minor ulcer: is distinguish because it grows up to 1 centimeter, occurs on the movable mucosa, for example the labial mucosa cheeks or the tongue soft palate and oropharynx.
• Major ulcer: is of course larger than one centimeter in diameter and a lot more painful than a minor ulcer sore. Just like the minor ulcer, occurs on the movable mucosa as well.
• Herpetiform: are very tiny mostly about 1 to 2 mm. They are called herpetiform because they resemble ulcers that are caused by herpes simplex virus. Location is important to distinguish between recurrent ulcers associated with systemic disease and the herpetic form. The herpetic form appear on the hard palate and gingival.

**Important: The canker sores produces vesicles that are contagious until they dry and crust during the healing phase.

This is the laser machine we have @ 7 Day Dental

 

Treatment

The most common treatment are found in the over the counter medication at any pharmacy. For the herpetic canker sores there is Abreva or prescription Acyclovir. The herpetic form cannot be treated with the dental laser because it is caused by the herpes simplex virus which lies dormant in the trigeminal ganglia of the mandible. The machine on the right was the one I used for the patient I previously talked about.

Warning!

When the canker sore first appears most likely due to sun light or stress, you will feel a tingling sensation called the prodromal period. This phase is considered contagious and precautionary measures should be taken to prevent transmission of the virus. Avoid touching the canker sore or kissing until the vesicles dry.

Aphthous & Trama

Aphthous Ulcers are common and occur in about 20% of the general population.
Trama is the most commonly reported type of ulcer. Cause usually by over aggressive brushing, eating something hot or spicy, emotional stress, or eating citrus fruits that have high acid content, such as lemons, oranges. Apthous ulcers can also be caused by systemic disseases such as, Behcet sundrome, Crohn disease, Ulcerative colitis, Cyclic neutropenia, Sprue (gluten intolerance), Intestinal lymphoma.
Dental laser can treatment can be use to treat the non herpetic form in just 1 minute with no more pain whatsoever! It is now available at 7 Day Dental!
7 Day Dental is the standard for TRUSTED Dental excellence!

About Me

My name is Christian Mazilu, I graduated in 2007 from San Joaquin Valley College from their Hygiene program as an honor student. I have been practicing dental hygiene for 4 years now at 7 Day Dental where I am please to recommend them to anyone, please come and visit us at any of our offices www.7daydental.com, or follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/7DayDentalEuclid or www.facebook.com/7DayDentalLincoln.