Mouth Ulcers Causes
Blisters that develop due to damage of soft tissues inside the mouth are called mouth ulcers or canker sores. The white or pale yellow sores surrounded by an inflamed red border can be extremely painful at times. Various reasons have been known to cause these sores. However, there are no single mouth ulcers causes.
Detailed Mouth Ulcers Causes
1. Physical Damage
Physical damage can be caused to the mucosal lining in mouth because of a sharp canine tooth or wisdom tooth, aggressive teeth brushing, incidental biting or gnawing of foods like crisp chips or hard toasted bread. Abrasion caused by dentures or scrape during dental cleaning process is also among common mouth ulcers causes.
2. Trauma caused by SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate)
Several mouthwashes and toothpaste available in the market contain sodium lauryl sulfate. This compound usually works as lathering agent and causes dryness to the surface on which it is used and eventually leaves the surface vulnerable to scuff or injury, which is why it is one of the mouth ulcers causes. In case of mouth ulcers, the mucosal membranes will be affected.
3. Stress
Prolonged physical, physiological or emotional stress on a person’s body is also one of the mouth ulcers causes. When a body is under stress, it tends to increase the blood pressure and at times even heart rate. The body also releases certain chemicals and cytokines to protect the body from various threats. These changes in the body may become one of the mouth ulcers causes.
4. Deficiency
One of the mouth ulcers causes could be deficiency of particular vitamins like B1, B2, B6 and B12. If a human body does not receive balanced nutrition, the body becomes weak. Deficiency of folic acid or iron may also lead to development of ulcers. Certain medical studies have revealed that supplements of B12, iron and folic acid, when taken as medicine, did not prove to be very effective in curing lesions.
5. Food allergies
Studies have disclosed that particular foods like buckwheat, barley, rye and gluten in the cereal category could be mouth ulcers causes. Fruits and nuts like oranges, tomatoes, figs, lemons, strawberries and walnuts can contribute to Aphthous ulcers. In rare cases, some variety of cheeses and milk also proved to be one of the mouth ulcers causes.
6. Smoking
Ironically, smoker’s mouth is less prone to mouth ulcers. Conversely, when a smoker stops smoking they tend to develop painful sores in the body. This is one of the mouth ulcers causes. This is body’s response to chemical transformation happening in the body.
7. Medicines Reaction
If a human body is already ailing, immunity is low. Certain medicines may react and become one of the mouth ulcers causes. Studies show medicines like aspirin and ibuprofen that fall under the category of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may cause reaction in individual bodies and lead to eruption of lesion. Beta-blockers and Nicorandil medicines, given for reduced blood flow, chest pain, angina and high blood pressure may be some of the mouth ulcers causes. Research suggests chemotherapy as one of the mouth ulcers causes in some patients.
8. Medical Conditions
Illness makes human body more vulnerable to infections and reactions. Some inflammatory bowel illness like Crohn’s disease in which the gut in the body is inflamed may be one of the mouth ulcers causes. Coeliac disease, which is caused by reaction to protein present in a substance called gluten found in many foods, might pose as one of the mouth ulcers causes. Other diseases like HIV-Aids, Sweets-Syndrome and Behcet’s disease can also cause outbreak of mouth ulcers.
9. Uncommon mouth ulcers causes
Hormonal changes that take place in a women’s body during their menstrual cycle is considered as one of the mouth ulcers causes but does not have enough evidence to support the claim. Enterovirus that causes mouth, hand and foot illness can be one of the mouth ulcers causes in some cases. Last but not the least skin disorders like angina bulllosa harmorrhagica or lichen planus could be among mouth ulcers causes.
Thus several factors contribute as mouth ulcers causes. These Lesions could erupt from simple abrasion in mucosal lining to severe underlying medical condition.