What Is Causing Your Mouth Pain And What Can You Do?

Mouth pain has many possible sources, including injuries, sores and certain diseases. Keep reading to learn the potential causes of your mouth pain.

Injury

You may experience some pain in your mouth if you have had an accident, such as falling over and biting your your lip or tongue. This can cause discomfort and tenderness on the inside of your mouth.

Similarly, you can injure our mouth by biting into food that is too hot. This could result in the roof of your mouth becoming burnt.

Dry Mouth

The salivary glands in your mouth produce saliva that helps to keep your mouth hydrated. If these glands stop producing as much saliva, it causes dry mouth. This can lead to mouth sores or a rough tongue.

In most cases, dry mouth is caused by dehydration but there are other causes, such as certain medications and cancer treatments.

Herpes Simplex Virus

HSV is the virus that causes cold sores

Although cold sores are usually associated with the lips, if you have only recently been infected with the virus, you may develop painful lesions on your tongue, gums and throat.

other symptoms of the virus include:

• A sore throat
• Swollen lymph nodes
• A fever
• Muscle aches

Other Infections

As well as HSV, there are other diseases that can cause painful lesions to occur in your mouth:

• Chickenpox
• Shingles
• Hand, foot and mouth disease
• HIV
• Infectious mononucleosis

Oral Thrush

Oral thrush is a fungal infection and anyone can get it but you will be more prone to infection if you have a weakened immune system or underlying health conditions.

Oral thrush can appear as cream-coloured lesions in many places within your mouth.

Oral Cancer

Oral cancer can affect many areas of the mouth including:

• Roof of the mouth
• Insides of the cheeks
• Back of the mouth
• Tongue
• Salivary glands
• Gums

Some of the most common symptoms include:

• Painful lesions that won’t heal
• Lumps or growths
• White or red patches inside the mouth
• Pain or difficulty swallowing
• Numbness in the lower lip, face, neck or chin.

Risk factors include:

• HPV infection
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• A weakened immune system
• A family history of cancer
• Being male

Home Remedies For Mouth Pain

• Take an over the counter painkiller like ibuprofen or paracetamol.
• Make a saltwater rinse.
• Apply ice.
• Avoid spicy, acidic or salty foods.
• Drink more fluids.
• Avoid smoking.
• Brush and floss your teeth gently.

For more information on other causes of mouth pain, click here.

If your mouth pain doesn’t subside with over the counter medication, call us on 01723 670500 for advice.