Feeling irritation or pain in a specific area of your mouth? It’s possible you have mouth ulcers or oral sores. Mouth ulcers, also known as canker sores, are the painful regions in your mouth and gums. While most mouth ulcers are harmless, they can make you extremely uncomfortable, and you might even struggle to eat, drink, or brush your teeth.

Although mouth ulcers are classified into different types based on their size, cause, place of occurrence, etc., they tend to appear clinically very similar. In this article, we have discussed different types of mouth ulcers and the signs and symptoms to recognise them.

Mouth Ulcers: An Introduction

Ulcers are among the most common oral lesions a person can experience. It’s a painful or uncomfortable sore that can appear anywhere inside your mouth. These sores are usually yellow, white, or red and can occur on your gums, inner cheeks, tongue, mouth’s roof (palate), and inner lips. 

Knowing Different Types of Mouth Ulcers

This section outlines different types of mouth ulcers you might get:

• Canker Sores or Canker Ulcers (Aphthous Ulcers)

Canker ulcers, also called aphthous ulcers, are the most commonly occurring oral sores. These are small, round or oval, yellowish or whitish lesions. You don’t worry about spreading or contracting them from another person as they are non-contagious. Although the exact cause is unknown, canker ulcers can develop on the softer, movable part of your mouth, including cheeks, tongue, and soft palate. 

Furthermore, canker sores are classified into three categories:

1. Herpetiform ulcer: There are relatively fewer chances of suffering from herpetiform ulcer, but if you do, there’s no need to worry. These canker ulcers usually heal themselves within a week. Moreover, they are very small but can clump together to become larger.
2. Minor aphthous ulcers: These are the most commonly developing canker sores. As the name suggests, they are small (less than 1 cm in diameter). Moreover, these oral ulcers can heal in a week or two without scarring.
3. Major aphthous ulcer: You might suffer from major aphthous ulcers less commonly than minor aphthous ulcers. Their size can go over 1 cm in diameter and take more than two weeks to heal. In addition, you might experience extreme pain and have scars once the ulcers are healed.

• Leukoplakia

This condition causes a whitish or greyish patch inside your oral cavity. These ulcers are usually caused by chronic irritation or ingestion of certain foods, improper dental restoration, cheek biting, smoking, and prostheses. 

Leukoplakia develops slowly, is usually non-cancerous, and doesn’t cause any pain or sensitivity. 

• Candidiasis or Oral Thrush

Candidiasis, also known as oral thrush, is caused by the fungal infection inside your mouth as a result of the overgrowth of yeast called Candida albicans. Other possible causes can be prolonged wearing of unclean dentures, diabetes, or a weak immune system.

This mouth ulcer appears in the form of creamy red or white patches and can cause bad breath and make it difficult to eat and swallow.

• Erythroplakia

Another symptom of chewing tobacco or smoking, erythroplakia, can develop anywhere in your oral cavity. These red patches commonly appear on the floor of your mouth, gum tissue, back of your teeth, or sides of your tongue.

Although they develop less commonly than leukoplakia, erythroplakia is potentially cancerous. 

• Cold Sores

Cold sores are a group of painful blisters filled with fluid that appear commonly on the lips and occasionally around the skin of your lips. Also referred to as fever blisters, herpes viral infection is the primary cause behind these painful blisters.

The best part is these blisters can typically heal in two weeks. However, cold sores can leave behind an unsightly scab once healed. If you suffer from cold sores frequently, your doctor might recommend an antiviral treatment along with some painkillers. 

In addition, note that these ulcers are contagious. The virus might stay inside your body once you get infected with cold sores, causing secondary infection.

Signs and Symptoms to Recognise Mouth Ulcers

You can easily spot mouth ulcers as they appear as sores on your inner lips, inner cheeks, mouth’s roof, tongue, back of your teeth, or gums. Besides this, the following are some common symptoms of different types of mouth ulcers:

• One or more painful sores on a specific part of the mucous membrane lining your mouth.
• Round or oval lesions having a reddish, yellowish, greyish, or whitish appearance.
• Swelling around the ulcers.
• Swollen and red mucous around the sores.
• Irritation or the sores when having salty, sour, or spicy foods.
• Irritation of sores by orthodontic aligners, dentures, or mouth splints.
• Having issues when chewing or brushing teeth due to tenderness.
• Pain worsens when eating and chewing.
• Occasionally, ulcers might not be sore, and it can occur in the case of mouth cancer.

How are Mouth Ulcers Caused?

Although the exact mouth ulcers cause is still to be found and can vary from person to person, here are some common causes:

• Bacteria, viral, or fungal infection
• Irritation 
• Allergic reaction
• Smoking or eating tobacco
• Systemic diseases like autoimmune conditions, hormonal changes, gastric or renal issues
• Stress
• Citrus fruits or acid and spicy foods
• Cheek and tongue-biting
• Braces or poor-fitting dentures and other apparatus
• Medications including painkillers and beta-blockers
• A deficient filling
• Genetic factors
• Nutritional deficiency

Bottom Line

Aside from causing pain or discomfort, mouth ulcers are usually harmless and can go away on their own in a week or so. However, persistent mouth sores require professional diagnosis as they could point to underlying medical conditions. Moreover, you can’t speed up the recovery of mouth ulcers, but you can still manage the symptoms and reduce the risk of complications with proper guidance.