Mouth ulcers: Types, causes, symptoms, and treatment

• Benign mouth ulcers are often painful whereas mouth cancer is not.
• Benign ulcers will clear up in about 2 weeks, whereas mouth cancer will not go away and will often spread.
• Mouth cancer patches may be rough, hard, and not easy to scrape off.
• Mouth cancer is often a mix of red and white areas or large white areas that appear on the tongue, the back of the mouth, the gums, or on the cheeks.
• Mouth cancer is often linked to heavy drinking or tobacco use.

In many cases, the pain and discomfort from mouth ulcers will lessen in a few days and then disappear in about 2 weeks with no need for treatment.

• A healthy balanced diet
• Adopting stress reducing techniques and having adequate sleep
• talking to a doctor about changing medications that are known to cause ulcers
• avoiding foods that can either trigger or worsen symptoms
• keeping the mouth clean with daily brushing and flossing
• avoiding triggers known to cause outbreaks in the past

There are some medications in the form of ointments and solutions that may help with pain and swelling, but these are often not necessary for a person to make a full recovery.