Mouth Ulcers - the recurrent pain in the.....well...mouth ;)

Mouth ulcers are known by many names including apthous ulcers and canker sores.

Mouth ulcers can be uncomfortable at best and excruciatingly painful when they really decide to work up.

Clinically aphthous ulcers can be divided into two general categories:

• Minor aphthae, which comprise over 80% of reported cases, are small (<1.0 cm), usually solitary, exquisitely painful, shallow ulcers and heal without scarring in 7-10 days.
• Major aphthae, which account for less than 10% of reported cases, are bigger, deeper, and heal with scar formation over a period of 2-3 weeks.

They are the result of several factors including - stress, nutritional deficiencies, acidity and genetic predispositions.

Other Common factors include:

• Injuries from any food, cheek biting, sharp- edged teeth, dentures, etc. 
• Burns: either from certain foodstuff or chemicals
• Drugs - Pain killers/antibiotics 
• Inadvertent lip/cheek biting

For recurrent sufferers - they are a kill joy. You can't enjoy spicy food - sometimes it is so bad you cannot enjoy ANY food. Huge painful ulcers interfere with speech. 
If you try to wait it out - it will take approx 7-10 days (if not more)to heal. 

So what is the cure for a mouth ulcer? and is there one? 

The bad news is that for those with a predisposition to recurrent ulcers - there is no cure. They will keep coming back no matter what you do. 
The good news is - that you don't have to suffer the full 7-10 days that it normally takes for an ulcer to heal.
Previously all we could offer patients was a oral gel that could be applied to anesthetize the area, thereby causing relief from the pain. The initial application stings but then numbs the area for a while allowing you to eat and drink. However the relief lasted for very short periods, necessitating frequent applications. Moreover the gels were only symptomatic treatment with no effect on the actual duration of healing. 
LASERS have revolutionized the treatment of ulcers. With a good soft tissue LASER - a couple of 5 min sittings is all that is needed to substantially reduce pain AND shorten the healing period. 

The procedure is simple: 
1. A topical gel is applied on the ulcer ( No need of an injection at all) - 10 sec
2. The LASER light is moved over the ulcer at a specific wattage for biostimulation ( to activate the healing cells) - ( 2min)
3. The last step involves light banding of the edges of the ulcers ( 30 sec)
In approx 3 min - you will experience reduction of pain and will be ready to go home. 
The same three steps are repeated on the next day.
For a small ulcer - you may not even require the second sitting. 

Those who have experienced a truly painful mouth ulcer can understand the value of reducing the healing period from 7-10 days to a mere 2 -3 days. And all it involves is five min of a very simple and pain free procedure!
Do not let a simple mouth ulcer get in the way of you enjoying good food and great company. 
Zap it and rid yourself of it. :)
www.aryasdentalclinic.com

You have a bigger role in curing yourself than you Imagine!

Healing is an extraordinary process. There is no doubt that HEALING is a complex and spectacular event. It involves millions of cells, molecules, chemicals and processes. 


But healing is more than just that. Healing involves more than events that can be explained by plain science. Healing involves a process perhaps more vague than can be explained by medicine. 

Health and healing are about more than the eradication of disease. Health is related to wholeness and holy--knowing who we are and how we are connected with the world around us. ~ Larry Dossey

I believe there is more to the role of the patient than is popularly advertised. More than just compliance with taking drugs and following instructions. I think there should be a willingness to be healed. A desire to be healed. A belief that he/she can be healed.


All kinds of people walk into the clinic. Positive people, negative people, people who don't care at all, people who care way too much....... everyone of them reacts differently to procedures..to experiences. All of them have different pain thresholds. But it isn't how they react during treatment so much as after it, that we believe influences their outcome.

A lot of people say they want to get out of pain, and I'm sure that's true, but they aren't willing to make healing a high priority. They aren't willing to look inside to see the source of their pain in order to deal with it. 

Lindsay Wagner 

There are some people so determined to make everything work for them that sometimes even a situation less than ideal - works spectacularly well in their favor. Then there are the people who just believe in Murphy's law to the extent that even if everything goes right for them - they'd keep anticipating something bad. 


The result? A perfect procedure...perfect execution and yet - an ache here...a niggling discomfort there..constantly dogging them. 


This is not to say that everybody who doesn't believe in blue skies and rainbows will have things go wrong for them in the dental office. It is just that we believe that Trust in the doctor and belief in a higher healing power helps to round off rough edges.

“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.”

And how to trust your doctor? Well the fact that you have come to him/her after having at least 400 other options available is evidence of the fact that somewhere on some level the trust has begun. The fact that after getting a procedure done once - you return to the same doctor is another step in the same direction. Then don't stop that process in the nascent stage. Let it grow. Let it reassure you. 


If your instincts are telling you otherwise - turn and run. If not - Trust that Trust and let it heal you. 




oh and that saying - " Everything heals with time"  - well - It applies to dentistry too. :)




www.aryasdentalcare.com