Mouth canker sores are painful ulcerations that form in different areas inside the mouth. They are usually caused by some sort of physical trauma to the mouth. Other times they are also caused by stress and substances that cause irritation as they come into contact with the tissues of the mouth. There are a lot of mouth canker symptoms that can be seen and felt. In this article, mouth canker sores symptoms are classified in 2 groups, the general symptoms and those specific to the degree of ulceration.
General mouth canker symptoms:
Symptoms of mouth canker include the appearance of small crater-like sores or ulcerations that is quite painful. Sometimes people would feel a tingling or burning sensation in their mouth from about 6 hours up to 24 hours before the canker sore will appear. These sores usually last around 5 to 10 days, although some lasts even longer. These sores are either grayish, or whitish, or yellowish ulcerations with a red border. They can be found in different parts of the mouth such as the soft palate, the inner part of the cheeks and the lips, the tongue, and the base of the gums. Some of them appear as one single sore, while others appear as clusters.
There are times that you may find other symptoms that accompany the lesions or ulcerations. These symptoms include swollen lymph node, fever, listlessness or feeling sluggish and slow.
Mouth canker symptoms specific to each type:
Mouth canker sores symptoms are classified in 2 groups, the general symptoms and those specific to the degree of ulceration.
1. Minor Canker Sores – This type is the most common among all the other types of canker sores. These are usually oval shaped ulcerations that are less than 1/3 of an inch or 10 millimeters across. Majority of these sores are only around 2 to 3 millimeters across and appearing with a white center. It is not common for these mouth sores to get infected. These sores are commonly painful, especially when rubbed against the tongue or by food in the mouth, or even when speaking, but they will be gone in about three days up to fourteen days without forming any scars.
2. Major Canker Sores – These mouth sores occur less often. They have deep ulcerations and their edges or margins are irregular. The sores measure greater than 1/3 of an inch or one centimeter. They often last for a long time, around three weeks up to six weeks, and when these mouth sores heal up, they would tend to leave extensive scarring.
3. Herpetiform Canker Sores – This type of canker sores develop or are seen later in life. These are actually small mouth sores, measuring no greater than 1/10 of an inch or around 3 millimeters across, but their numbers are great. This type is called herpetiform because it looks like herpes infection and is often mistaken as one. The lesions are “punched-out” and shallow and they form clusters which can sometimes merge forming large and irregular mouth ulcers.
You know it is time to see your dentist, or doctor when your mouth canker sores symptoms are persistent, or when the pain becomes unbearable, or when the sore make eating or even drinking difficult, or when the sores are unusually large and when new sores keep on appearing. Also, when you have canker sores and experience high fever at the same time, then you need to seek medical help.
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