Dental Disorders and Mouth Sores

Mouth sores are an uncomfortable and often painful dental disorder. That said, they are also related to your overall health and the presence of mouth sores can be indicative of another problem such as inflammatory bowel disease, lupus or cancer.

If you suffer regularly from mouth sores, the first thing to do is see your dentist. He will first check for things like loose dentures, jagged teeth and orthodontic braces.

Loose dentures, jagged teeth and orthodontic braces can all lead to mouth sores for the same reason. These things can potentially cause abrasive rubbing between the gum and cheek or the gum and the inside of the lips.

When this happens it’s possible that a tear might occur. If this tear or lesion gets infected, mouth sores are the result.

There are lots of things which may cause such lesions to get infected. The most common is food. Our mouths contain a hive of bacteria, and these bacteria are kept under control by keeping the ph balance of the mouth in check.

A diet which is high in acid foods or salty foods will aggravate the mouth’s bacteria. For example, lots of fried foods, crisps and sweets or candy will increase the acid levels in the mouth.

But it is not just unhealthy foods that can affect the balance of the mouth. Grapefruit, oranges, eggs, milk, tea, coffee and wine are also foods that are high in acidic content. It is important to balance the intake of these foods with foods that are high in alkaline. These foods include melon, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.

However, there is no point in just concentrating on a healthy diet if there is a possibility that you have loose dentures or loose orthodontic braces. If these problems are not sorted, the lesions will continue and they will worsen over time.

That’s why regular visits to the dentist are so important. The dentist will check to make sure that these are not the potential cause of mouth sores whilst also making sure to tighten dentures and braces. He or she can also file jagged teeth.

However, there is a more basic service which the dentist can provide which is also essential and that is teeth cleaning. Regular cleaning will avoid the build up of plague and other bacteria in the mouth which can potentially lead to mouth sores.