The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
L-Lysine
Posted by Aisling (Galway, Ireland ) on 08/18/2015
★★★★★
Lysine, an amino acid, is brilliant to alleviate mouth ulcers, just use recommend dose on pack, usually about 2 X 1000 mg tablets. You can use them continuously to help prevent ulcers if you are prone, or else just when you get an ulcer. I've tried everything, including soluble steroids but listen works brilliantly. Within two days the ulcer will have virtually gone. Corsodyl mouthwash is also quite good for bringing instant relief.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Janie (Magnolia, Texas) on 05/30/2015
★★★★★
I had a mouth ulcer that would not go away and was getting more painful as the days went on. I looked up on Earth Clinic and found that coconut oil could be used so I took some and placed it directly on the mouth ulcer and within 24 hours it was completely gone. Great stuff. I told my sister n law about it because my brother is taking chemo and will need something to help with mouth ulcers.
Baking Soda
Posted by Mama to Many (Tennessee) on 11/25/2014
★★★★★
I had a canker sore in my mouth last night. It was red and inflamed and had a white patch in the middle. But my son had just put a coat of finish on my kitchen floor and I couldn't access any of my herbs, charcoal, etc, since they were in the kitchen. I was looking around my bathroom for something I could try and saw my home made tooth powder. Baking soda!! I put some on the spot three times before bed. Tonight I realized it must have worked. I looked in my mouth and saw no sign of the sore! For the record, my tooth powder also has bentonite clay and peppermint essential oil in it. But I think it was the baking soda.
~Mama to Many~
Coconut Oil
Posted by Holly (St. Louis, MO) on 08/21/2014
★★★★★
While out camping with my family I developed two huge canker sores along my upper gums. It hurt to eat, drink and talk.There were no stores around so we only had what we packed... thank goodness I had some coconut oil on hand (I packed it to help ease sunburns and also as the oil to pop our popcorn-yum! ).
I used my finger and dabbed a small amount on both sores, right before bed. The next morning, the pain was nearly gone. So after brushing my teeth I applied it again and, though the sores didn't disappear immediately, the pain was gone by lunchtime.
I am a huge believer in the benefits of coconut oil (organic, unrefined, cold pressed only! ) and always have a small bottle on hand. This is just another fantastic cure from an amazing oil.
Sage
Posted by Tim (Georgia (Republic of)) on 03/30/2014 21 posts
★★★★★
Hi, from Georgia (Rep. of).
Here is the best and only remedy for canker sores in your mouth - dry Sage leaves. Chew just a few of them each time and all day long if you like and all year long if you like with no side effects. Don't use a dried stem of Sage to avoid scratches that can worsen situation and prolonged healing. You WILL get rid of canker sores from a few hours to several days in severe cases. Repeat treatment if any. Good luck!
Activated Charcoal
Posted by Mama to Many (TN) on 07/16/2022
Hi Sandy, A canker sore is an ulcer in the mouth but isn't caused by an infected tooth. It sounds like you may be dealing with infected teeth which can also cause an ulcer on the gum and the pain you describe. Charcoal is something you can use for infected teeth, but I would look on this page (https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/tooth_abscess.html) for more details about treating infected teeth. You can use pain medication to help, but that won't help to cure it, just help you bear it. I'm sorry! I know it is so painful. I hope you can get relief from the remedies on that page soon. ~Mama to Many~
Unlit Match
Posted by Sleighb7 (Ontario, Canada) on 10/18/2013
★★★★★
Unlit Match for Canker Sores: Oh thank the lord someone put this remedy up.... The to the point story.... Large mouth ulcer with white crust forming, lots of pain, put unlit match on the white part for around 20-30 seconds, not to long in case of further irritation which causes them to grow. Woke up 50% better, repeated same process this morning, ulcer is around 85% gone, will repeat tonight and be done with it, fastest ive ever gotten rid of an ulcer, no more white crust, warning this will sting but the relief it provides after is well worth the pain.
Avoid SLS Toothpaste
Posted by Dave (Columbus, Usa) on 04/28/2013
★★★★★
I have had canker sores for a while and had tried a lot of different things to help them. My daughter started to get them at a young age too. We looked around and found that SLS can cause canker sores and we found that it is in a lot of toothpastes. We started using Baking soda for toothpaste and we have not had any more canker sores for over 6 months except for my daughter 1 more time. She missed the toothpaste flavor and she used some of a gel mint flavor toothpast that had SLS in it and the next day she got a canker sore. She went back to the baking soda and it was gone in 2 days and didn't come back. Before she was getting 1 -2 every week now none in 6 months. We just get a small bowl and put some baking soda in it and wet the toothbrush in water and dip it in the paste 1 time and then brush. I learned about it from my grandpa many years ago but never used it. He past away at 94 years old and had almost all of his teeth.
Chronic Canker Sore
Posted by Louwrence (Rustenburg, North West, South Africa) on 04/04/2013
Hi Ana, Seeing that everything you have tried has failed, try rinsing your mouth with your own urine, it is an antiseptic, whenever I bite the inside of my mouth that is what I use. You can also try salt but it burns & doesn't heal as quickly as with urine.
L-Lysine
Posted by Mary G. (Santa Cruz, California, Usa) on 03/25/2012
★★★★★
About 8 years ago my daughter (then in her early 20's and my husband both were plagued with canker sores. A co-worker of mine at the time suggested L lysine, 500 mg tablets. It totally cleared up the canker sores and they didn't need to keep taking it after the sores were gone. They both keep a supply handy to take at the first sign of a recurrence.
L-Lysine
Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 02/19/2012
★★★★★
Finally, after 5 years of constant struggle with canker sores, I hope I've found the solution, thank G-d! I had taken l-lysine on an off with varying degrees of success untill I was told to take it (with water, of course) ON AN EMPTY STOMACH, away from food. For me, that was the secret, and so far so good, not one new sore! Now I just take one capsule of 500g. once in the morning for maintenance.
Black Tea
Posted by David (New York, Ny) on 10/18/2011
★★★★★
Tannin is a good remedy for canker sores, it's found in black tea. If you put a black tea bag on your tongue and let it sit for like 5 min or so you take it off and the pain is nearly all gone and the effect stays for quite awhile.
Gluten-Free Diet
Posted by Jon (Defiance, Oh) on 10/06/2011
★★★★★
For years I suffered from canker sores, joint pain, sudden weakness, sharp pains throughout my body, and acid reflux. When the stomach cramps set in, that was the red flag: I was gluten intolerant. For those of you suffering from chronic canker sores, it is a food allergy and one of the symptoms of gluten intolerance. As damage occurs to your intestines, your ability to absorb certain vitamins (like vitamin B) can cause your immune system to attack the inside of your mouth because it responds to certain substances that may be left behind after eating.
For me, the trigger was citric acid, but the primary cause was gluten. Now I don't get canker sores unless I eat something with gluten in it. I can even have drinks and foods with citric acid in it and not get them if I'm avoiding gluten. If you are only getting them infrequently then I would suspect that you are just low in vitamin B, but for those of you getting this painful mouth ulcer regularly, you might want to get tested for gluten intolerance. Just thought I'd put in my experiences and two-cents since I see so many myths circulating around about canker sores since there is no definite answer on what causes them.
Water Pulling
Posted by Msg (Somewhere, Europe) on 03/20/2010
★★★★★
i tried oil pulling with water instead of oil. i have been having recurrent canker sores for the past 3 years. after a week of "water pulling" they are greatly reduced. i spit out the water when it gets too much volume, and just continue with new water. i drink after cleaning my mouth when i'm done pulling.
Goldenseal
Posted by Diana (St. Charles, Mo, USA) on 01/13/2010
★★★★★
I wanted to pass along some information for those that suffer from frequent canker sores. My granddaughter get's canker sores all of the time. It seems she gets a couple and just about gets those healed and there's another outbreak in her mouth. At times they are so bad that she can't talk and has trouble eating/chewing. I've researched this for years as well as talk to her dentist, her pediatrician and tried different rememdies. The first thing I did was take her off regular toothpaste and have her start using a natural toothpaste without SLS and that seemed to help only slightly. I've continued researching and having her try different rememdies. I think we've finally found the "magic bullet". I'd read that Goldenseal Root was great for healing canker sores. Buy the tincture (liquid) and apply it directly to the sore with a Q-tip. She noticed immediate relief with the pain and the sore healed very quickly. She also had a new one that hadn't fully developed, but she knew that in the next day or two it would be a full blown canker sore, so she started applying Goldenseal Root to that as well and by the very next day it was completely gone!
When I went to the local health food store to buy the Goldenseal Root, the clerk told me that alot of times mouth sores are caused because there's a problem in the intestines and she advised me to get a good probiotic and have my granddaughter take it daily. She started a daily regimine of a good probiotic first thing in the morning about 30 minutes before breakfast, then dabbing the sores a minimum of 3 times a day. Her outbreaks have really slowed down and when she feels one forming she starts this regimine right away and it either stops it in it's tracks or heals them very, very quickly. Just wanted to pass this along to everyone who suffers the same fate as my granddaughter. I know how much she suffered and how badly these things effected her life so I hope that this information will help others as well.
Lemon Juice
Posted by Sam (London, Uk) on 08/16/2009
★★★★★
Lemon Juice for Mouth Ulcers:
I've recently had a bit of a fight with ulcers on the back of my throat and roof of my mouth. They are so painful and yet again the doctor can describe nothing to cure them, only a paste to numb them....which in my eyes (as a singer) is not going to do me much help!! I've tried ACV and ginger with no luck, but the last time Cayenne Pepper in Hot water seemed to do the trick but this time neither could help me and they would not budge! I decided to squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon into a cup and gargle with it...BLOW ME DOWN!!!! IT STUNG LIKE HELL and my eyes watered, however I could feel them burning on the roof of my mouth....it felt like they wanted to grow legs and run out of there!!! So 24hours after the lemon juice gargle, the redness has calmed down and they are totally on the mend....next time I am going to add salt to this mixture and burn them right out!! But for now the lemon juice has worked wonders!!
Colloidal Silver
Posted by John (Fresno, Ca) on 06/30/2009
★★★★★
I have been suffering from mouth sores for decades. I read that colloidal silver will penetrate tissue. So, gaving tried everything, i tried 250 ppm. Everytime i got a mouth sore starting, i gargled (then spat out - did not swallow) for 3 minutes like the article suggested. The mouth sore would go away in 24-48 hours. After a while, i stopped getting mouth sores.
