Mouth ulcer treatment

There are a number of treatments to cure mouth ulcers. There are either topical treatments (mouthwashes, gels, sprays, patches) or systemic.

There are 3 types of topical treatments:

• Analgesic ones to avoid pain
• Aanti-bacteriological ones to avoid secondary infection of ulcers
• Corticosteroid based treatments to limit the inflammatory process

Of the medications listed by A.A.O.M., only corticosteroids have been studied in well-designed clinical trials in patients with RAU¹⁴. But patients should be counselled regarding the potential for candidal overgrowth when steroid rinses are used for extended periods. The most potent steroids can lead to mucosal thinning and erosions of the mouth's tissues

Systemic mouth ulcer treatments that have been studied are oral corticosteroids, colchicine, dapsone, levamisole, thalidomide (the most efficient). All have known side effects and, for some, potentially serious side effects. For example, the limitation of the use of the thalidomide is due to its serious side effects noticed in 97% cases.

First mouth ulcer treatment for people with chronic mouth ulcers

AftaZen is the first systemic mouth ulcer treatment to prevent mouth ulcers without known secondary effects. AftaZen has been developed to treat mouth ulcers for people with chronic mouth ulcers .

Results show a 79% Aftazen effectiveness in mouth ulcer treatment (*) * post-treatment survey developped with 428 patients affected with recurring aphthous stomatitis

Mouth ulcer treatment & mouthwash

Mouth ulcers, although not of microbial origin, are often secondarily infected, which can cause a longer crisis. Antibacterial mouthwash can be useful in order to avoid this infection. However scientific studies show contradictory results on Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis. Some ¹⁶ show no benefit of pain relief while others ¹⁹show a small relief but no effect on frequency of crisis.

Be careful: mouthwashes are not a preventive treatment for mouth ulcers, and if used too often, they can have serious consequences on the oral flora imbalance (killing needed bacteria in the mouth).

Using corticoid-based mouthwash or cream can be very efficient against mouth ulcers, especially for patients with prodromes (premonitory symptoms). This treatment blocks the inflammatory process of the mouth ulcer, but does not really cure the disease. Known side effects are candidosis or mucosal atrophy⁵.