My 5 year old gets canker sores occasionally and when he does, brushing his teeth is horrible. He usually doesn't say anything until teeth time. I've tried putting some remedies on it and it's horrible for him.
He doesn't get them enough for us to change diet, it's occasionally. I am looking for something that he can rinse with to help speed up the healing process and take away some of the pain. Thanks.
By mindy
Bless his little heart! I feel his pain, so, I recommend ABREVA. It's expensive, but it really works and only takes a small squirt 5 times a day and the sore goes away faster than anything I've tried in the past, (soda, etc. - ouch - Burning!). You didn't say what age, so ask pharmacist. Hope this helps the little one! Maw-Maw (01/09/2010)
By Maw-Maw
Gargle with a solution of baking soda and water, tastes awful but helps neutralize the acid. And you might want to check the sugar that he is getting, believe it or not, a lot of sugar in a diet can cause canker sores. Believe me, it's from experience! (01/12/2010)
By Michawn
Poor little guy. Canker sores are so painful!
But maybe there's something you can do to prevent them. I found out after many years of suffering. My dentist wasn't any help. Just told me that a lot of people suffer from them.
So I did my own research and discovered a simple explanation! Many people are sensitive to one of the chemicals found in most toothpastes! That chemical is a detergent called "sodium lauryl sulfate," also called "SLS." It's the ingredient that makes toothpaste (and soap and shampoo)"foamy."
It's extremely drying to mouths that are sensitive to it, and causes mouth ulcers and canker sores to form. Unfortunately most toothpastes include SLS in their formulas, even the "natural" brands. Just check the labels - it's almost always in there.
But during my research I found that there are a few toothpaste that have deliberately omitted SLS because of the canker sore issue. I tried a couple of them. The one I liked best was "SQUIGLE Enamel Saver." The downsides are that you have to order it online, and it's also more expensive than regular toothpastes (about $7 and a few more bucks for shipping).
Rembrandt also makes an SLS-free version (I think it's called "Gentle Formula," but I found that one was so dry that it was hard to squeeze out of the tube!
Squigle worked so fast and so well to eliminate my canker sore breakouts that I realize I will always have to "splurge" on my toothpaste, or suffer the consequences!
I've been using it for about two years, and in all that time I've had only two canker sores! I got them both at the same time and it was when I was getting over the flu, so I think they were just from the stress of being run down for a couple of weeks.
As a person who has had canker sores at least once a month most of my life, and in recent years getting them almost non-stop, the SLS-free toothpaste has been a miracle! I sure wish they'd figured this out a lot sooner.
Maybe you could ask your dentist's opinion about trying it. (Mine was clueless, but that was a few years ago.) Good luck to you and your little guy! (01/12/2010)
By Janet
If you could talk him into telling you when they are coming on I use a prescription called Clioquinol 3% Hc1% that works wonderful. It is a cream that has to be applied several tims a day and if I catch the sore when it is coming on it won't go ahead and come by using this cream. I cannot drink orange juice over one glass a month or so and have to watch high acid tomatoes also. I have had cold and canker sores for 50 years and this is the best treatment I have found yet. Good luck. (01/13/2010)
By Ann Winberg
When my dd immune system went down she got them. Put hydrogen peroxide on it. Do not double dip q tip in it. Get it super wet and gently let it drop onto the canker sore. Have him watch the bubbles. Ria (01/13/2010)
By REE
Ora Gel will not cure the sore but it will numb it temporarily while he brushes his teeth. (01/13/2010)
By Lilac
Yes, peroxide diluted with water. (01/13/2010)
By Betty
My husband has suffered his whole life until he found out about "Listerine" it works! He rinses after he eats certain foods like tomatoes or chocolate and it prevents them and if he does get one rinse at the first sign it they go away or shortens the duration! (01/13/2010)
By Dawn Rodgers
If you have a doctor who will write a Rx for you, get it for kenalog in ora base. This stuff is amazing, just before bed, you dry the area and dap on a very small amount. Then go to sleep and the next morning the sore is gone, really gone. But the reason these things come in the first place is from digestion that's screwed up. It's probably from not enough hydrochloric acid production in the stomach. This was my problem. (01/13/2010)
I got these all the time when I was growing up, sometimes two or three at a time and they were horrendous and very painful!
My grandma told my mom to have me put ALUM on them. It's a pickling agent used to make pickles, sold in the spice aisle. It comes in a little jar and is a white powder. It does sting when you first put in on (and doesn't taste good either, very sour) the canker sore, but within seconds it numbs the pain and won't numb the rest of your mouth the way other pain relieving oral cremes can. It also works to heal the sore faster by protecting it and helping it to dry out. It always, always worked for me, and I've used it on my son when he gets them (although he's only had a few).
Abreva won't work - canker sores inside the mouth are not the same as fever blisters or cold sores. Other pain cremes just numb the pain and the rest of your mouth too!
I'd give this a try, it's a very old remedy. Surprised, actually, to see that someone hadn't already mentioned it. That's why I had to... Hope this helps! (powdered alum if you need more clarification but on the label it just says "Alum", which I just looked up on wikipedia and it says it's a common home remedy for canker sores!)
Also the jar lasts a long time.
To use, just wet the tip of your (clean) finger, stick it in the jar to stick some of the powder to your finger, then stick it on your canker sore. I used it as often as I wanted to, whenever the numbing effect wore off (which was a few hours or more) ~Jaidamoon (01/13/2010)
By Chandra
The easiest and most painless way to cure canker sores is by dipping a Q-Tip in Pepto-Bismol the hold it on the canker sore for a few minutes. It will feel cool and soothing. Do this 1-3 times a day for 1-2 day's and the canker sore will go away. You can swallow any Pepto that will be in your mouth with your saliva or you can spit it out. It is better to swallow it because this is what cures a sour stomach by lining the wall of your stomach. I am a retired nurse and have used this remedy on myself and my children for many years. It works great!
Pat from Illinois (01/13/2010)
By Pat from IL
Try L-Lysine, in the Vitamin Aisle. My grandmother had me do this when I was younger. (01/14/2010)
By JSRP
My son had this problem for years. Turns out it was the toothpaste he was using (the red and white-striped one). We switched to Biotene - problem solved. (01/15/2010)
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