My Experience with Canker Sores

Canker sores, A.K.A. mouth ulcers, are a very common ailment. This is a very uncomfortable lesion that dentists and physicians treat symptomatically. There is no known cause, but stress, sodium lauryl sulphate (a common ingredient in toothpaste) and some foods will trigger outbreaks in some people. Canker sores look similar to some other oral lesions, most notably oral cancer and herpes (a contagious viral infection). When I was a college student in 1980, I had a bad experience when a physician misdiagnosed my canker sores as herpes.

I have been plagued by canker sores for as long as I can remember. I am sensitive to sodium lauryl sulphate, or SLS. SLS is a foaming agent, an ingredient in nearly all brands of toothpaste. I was a student who worked hard to do well. The stress of upcoming examinations and dates with attractive women routinely lead to outbreaks of multiple mouth sores. As a 19-year-old college junior, I went to a new, young medical doctor to discuss my painful and embarrassing condition.

Remembering 1980, this was shortly before AIDS and HIV were known to exist. News media, television, news magazines and newspapers were full of stories of Herpes simplex and how herpes infection was affecting dating and sex. Herpes is transmitted by oral and sexual contact. I feared that my frequent sores were the result of such an infection. I shared my concern with my new physician. He gave me a thorough exam and took a lengthy, embarrassing social history. He looked carefully at the sores in my mouth. He had a serious discussion with me about his diagnoses - oral Herpes simplex infection. We talked about dating and safe sex. Finally, he recommended some folk and nutritional remedies.

This news was very upsetting. I became concerned that I would not be able to date normally. There was no medication to treat herpes and prevent outbreaks. I did not know anyone who had this infection - or did I? I did not trust the women I had been with. I had to discuss this diagnoses with my mother and father. I carried this burden for about 2 years.

Something changed in 1982. I was a second-year dental student at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. I took a course on Oral Pathology - the study of infections and conditions affecting oral health. Early in that course, Dr. Edmund Cataldo taught my class about soft tissue lesions. Well trained dentists easily distinguish canker sores and herpes lesions.

Canker sores usually form on the smooth lining of the mouth, inside the lips and under and on the sides of the tongue. Unlike herpes, the ulcers appear without notice. Usually, canker sores are painful. Canker sores last for 10 to 14 days depending on their location and local factors (such as a sharp tooth) that may irritate the sore and prevent healing.

Herpes simplex lesions may appear on the outside of the lip (a cold sore) or on the firm tissue around the teeth and on the hard palate. Herpes sores begin with a noticeable tingling sensation right where the sore will form. Small blisters develop. The tiny blisters may coalesce into larger sores. The blisters break, leaving painful ulcers that look like canker sores. These ulcers heal in a week or two.

Oral cancer may look like a canker sore, but it is usually not painful and does not heal. Oral cancer may be found anywhere in the mouth, which is why dentists should do a thorough oral examination at every checkup appointment for every patient.

Today, there are treatments available for herpes and canker sores, and oral cancer is a deadly disease that demands early diagnoses and treatment. See your dentist regularly, and anyone who has a problem with mouth ulcers of any kind should seek help at their earliest opportunity.