Mouth
Mouth
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth; for thy love is better than wine. . . ."
"Breath like an angel''''s whisper. . . ."
"Open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. . . ."
From Solomon to Shakespeare, poets have a way with words. Not facts.
| Let the Doc Look Here''''s a conundrum. The mouth sore that hurts is usually harmless. It''''s the one that doesn''''t hurt that needs attention. Irritating as a canker sore can be, it really isn''''t harmful, and it goes away in a matter of days. The sore to watch out for is a bump or an ulcer that may look like a canker sore, but it doesn''''t hurt and it never heals. It could be a sign of oral cancer. You should be particularly alert to mouth bumps or ulcers if you smoke, since smoking changes the cells in the mouth. More than 19 out of every 20 people who have oral cancer are also smokers--even chewing tobacco can hurt. A rule of thumb is that if you have any kind of sore in your mouth that doesn''''t heal within two weeks, see your dentist. |
"The mouth is actually one of the dirtiest parts of the body," says Richard H. Price, D.M.D., clinical instructor of dentistry at Boston University Henry Goldman School of Dentistry. "That''''s why a human bite is so serious."
So here''''s the real dirt on mouths: More than three dozen different species of bacteria call our mouths home. While some are good, many aren''''t.
The good bacteria suppress nasty fungi that also live in the mouth--such as Candida albicans, a common fungus that can produce yellowish sores in the mouth (it''''s called oral thrush). If you''''re taking antibiotics that suppress the good bacteria with the bad, you''''re much more likely to get oral thrush.
On the other hand, the bad bacteria in your mouth are definitely bad. If your immune system lets down its guard, you never know what bacteria might make a grand entrance through your mouth and begin to do their dirty work.
| Halitosis: A Whiff of Trouble Standing in a crowded bus or crammed inside a theater lobby, you may suddenly catch a whiff of pungent breath. Unfortunately, noxious fumes sometimes carry a deeper meaning to dentists. "The smell of bad breath can sometimes tell me the amount of gum disease a person has. I want to tell her, ''''Quick, go see a dentist,'''' " says Ray C. Williams, D.M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Periodontics at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry at Chapel Hill. Or it could mean other things. Sour stomach, sinusitis and respiratory infections can also cause bad breath. So can tasty members of the allium family--garlic and onions are notorious. And so are some spice mixtures such as Indian curries. If you''''re worried about the smell of your breath, here are some ways to sweeten it. * Rinse your mouth after eating. Since halitosis is often caused by bacteria and food debris in your mouth, a good swish, gargle and spit get rid of the bad-breath ingredients. Better yet, follow up by brushing your teeth. * Chew parsley. Like garlic and onion, parsley flavors your breath--but parsley just happens to smell good. * Suck on sugarless peppermint candy. Not only does peppermint have an agreeable fragrance, the sucking action stimulates saliva, our natural mouthwashing detergent. |
Since doctors are well-informed about all that bacterial activity, it''''s a bit surprising that they still don''''t know the culprit that causes the mouth''''s most common malady--the canker sore.
Don''''t Be Sore
Canker sores are simply open sores that you can get anywhere inside your mouth: on your tongue, inside your lips or on the mucous lining of your cheek. They''''re often a girl thing. We get them when we''''re teenagers and young adults and right before our periods. "Twenty percent of the population gets canker sores," says Kenneth Burrell, D.D.S., senior director of the council on scientific affairs of the American Dental Association. "And most of them are women."
As for the medical name, it''''s a phonic delight--aphthous ulcers. Bite your tongue, and you''''ll probably get an aphthous ulcer where you bit it. Apart from that, hormones, stress and nutritional deficiencies (of folic acid, iron and the B vitamins) are all thought to play a role in creating canker sores.
Here are some ways to soothe the sores.
Try a mouth bandage. A canker sore usually gets worse, because your teeth keep scraping against it. But you can give it a chance to heal if you use Orabase, says Dr. Burrell. You can buy a tube of it at most pharmacies. The ingredients make a paste that stays put in your mouth like a bandage for several hours.
Rinse with magnesia. Liquid antacids can also soothe a canker sore. Doctors recommend that you swish a tablespoon or so of Mylanta or milk of magnesia around the site of an ulcer to coat the sore and relieve its irritation.
Stir up something new. Some dentists recommend concocting a soothing mixture from half a tablespoon of liquid Benadryl--an antihistamine--and an equal amount of Kaopectate--an antidiarrhea medicine. Swish it around the sore and spit it out. "The Benadryl numbs the sore, and the Kaopectate cools it and coats it. It''''s a very soothing concoction," says Ray C. Williams, D.M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Periodontics at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry at Chapel Hill.
Choose the "benz" family. Pharmacy shelves hold a number of canker sore medications. The ones to look for, says Dr. Burrell, are topical tinctures and salves that contain benzoin or benzocaine (such as Orajel). "Tincture of benzoin provides a protective layer, and benzocaine is an anesthetic."
Take your E''''s. Some women find relief using vitamin E as an oral salve. Just open up a vitamin E capsule and squeeze some of the contents onto your canker sore. Gently rub the gel into the sore.
See also Gums, Lips, Teeth, Tongue
