Oral Disease and disorders / Oral patholgoy / mouth ulcers

Mouth ulcers can be caused by a wide range of factors including: of the mouth (mucous membrane) Ulcers can occur singly or as multiples. They may last days, months of even longer. They may also be recurrent or intermittent.

Causes

Mouth ulcers can be cause by a wide range of factors including;

• Trauma
• Allergy
• infection 
• Medication reactions
• Skin rashes in the mouth
• Autoimmune disease
• Micronutrient deficiency 
• Underlying systemic conditions 

Treatment

The management options for oral ulcers are varied and depend on the cause of the ulcer/s and the diagnosis. Some ulcers will heal by themselves once the underlying reason is addressed, and some ulcers require medication, corticosteroid injections, or surgical intervention. If the ulcer is due to oral cancer, more extensive management is necessary.

Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer is often used to describe a number of cancer that start in the region of the mouth. These most commonly occur on the lips, tongue and floor of the mouth. Oral cancer is an aggressive type of cancer and must be treated early to improve patient survival and provide better long term outcomes.

Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms of oral cancer can include:

• A lump in the mouth
• Loose teeth
• Swelling or a sore on your lip that wont heal
• White or red patches on the mouth, tongue or gums
• An non-healing ulcer
• Symptoms of oral cancer can include:

White and red lesions are relatively common and can represent a wide variety of conditions  These can include very benign reactive or traumatic lesion to more serious precancerous lesions. It is crucial that the correct diagnosis is made so that appropriate treatment can be applied. 

Diagnosis

For diagnosis at times this can be completed simply via its clinical presentation. At times however a biopsy for diagnosis is required. 

Treatment

Treatment depends on the type of lesion and can range from not needing any treatment to surgical excisions with clear margins to reduce the likelihood of developing oral cancer. For some of the autoimmune or immune-mediated skin rash like lesions often topical or systemic medications are required. 

Oral dryness or  xerostomia is the feeling of decreased salivary production and lubrication of the mouth.  

Saliva keeps your mouth and body health. It has many benefits that help reduce the risk of:

• Dental decay
• Gum disease
• Infections 
• Saliva also helps with speech, taste, swallowing and digestion

What Causes Dry mouth

Some are easy to understand. For example, when the weather is hot and dry, or we don't drink enough water. When that happens, we can become dehydrated, and so the mouth becomes dry.  Other causes are hard to understand. Saliva volume (the amount we make) and the composition (the quality of saliva) can vary depending on a mix of: 

• Hydration, the amount of water you drink 
• The time of day 
• Age 
• Medications, some may alter saliva 
• Foods and drinks 
• Recreational drugs 
• Previous chemotherapy or head and neck radiation • Some medical conditions 
• Alcohol 
• Smoking 
• Caffeinated drinks