Mouth Problems,Noninjury - Home Treatment
Mouth problems are common and can be very annoying. But most mouth problems are minor and will clear up with home treatment and time. Simple home treatment measures, such as increasing your fluid intake to prevent dehydration and using a humidifier inside your home, can relieve many mouth problems. Try home treatment when you have one of the following mouth problems:
- Chapped lips. Avoid licking or biting your lips. Protect your lips with lipstick or a lip balm, such as a water-based product. If your lips are severely chapped, build a barrier by applying petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, for a short time and then switch to a water-based product. Avoid sun or wind exposure. Using a humidifier in your home may help.
- A dry mouth. Avoid caffeinated beverages, tobacco, and alcohol, all of which increase dryness in your mouth.
- Bad breath, a bad taste in your mouth, a black or coated tongue, or "hairy tongue." You can freshen your breath by brushing your teeth, tongue, roof of your mouth, and gums. Sometimes just rinsing your mouth with fresh water will freshen your breath and make your mouth taste better.
Problems with the way food tastes
Simple changes in your diet can help if you are having problems with the way food tastes.
- If your food lacks flavor, try a variety of sauces, seasonings, and marinades, such as barbecue sauce, ketchup, meat marinades, mustard, salad dressings, soy sauce, spices, herbs, or teriyaki sauce.
- If your food tastes too sweet, add a bit of salt or lemon juice or choose tart, salty, or spicy snacks in place of sweet snacks.
- If your food tastes too salty, add a bit of sugar to tone down the saltiness or try bland foods and cook without adding seasonings or spices.
Sore or ulcer inside your mouth
Changes in your diet
can also help if you have a sore or ulcer inside your mouth, such as a
canker sore 
.
- Drink cold liquids, such as water or iced tea, or eat Popsicles or frozen juices. Use a straw to keep the liquid from coming in contact with your mouth sore.
- Eat soft, bland foods that are easy to swallow, such as ice cream, custard, applesauce, cottage cheese, macaroni and cheese, soft-cooked eggs, yogurt, or cream soups.
- Cut foods into small pieces, or grind, mash, blend, or puree foods.
- Avoid coffee, chocolate, spicy and salty foods, citrus fruits, nuts, seeds, and tomatoes.
Pain relief
- If you have a painful sore on the outside of your lip, apply ice to the area when you first feel a sore coming on (tingling or prickly feeling at the site). This may help reduce the pain and dry out the sore. Apply the ice directly to the sore-5 minutes on, 10 minutes off-repeating as desired.
- Rinse with an antacid, such as Maalox or Mylanta, or dab it on your sores with a cotton swab.
- Avoid very hot, cold, or sweet foods and drinks if they increase your pain.
- Apply petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, to ease the cracking and dryness of a lip sore.
- Use a lip protector, such as Blistex or Campho-Phenique, to ease the pain. Don't share your lip protector with others because cold sores are contagious.
- Puncture a vitamin E capsule and squeeze the oil onto the sore. This soothes inflammation and protects the sore.
| Try a nonprescription medicine to help treat your fever or pain: |
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Talk to your child’s doctor before switching back and forth between doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. When you switch between two medicines, there is a chance your child will get too much medicine. |
| Be sure to follow these safety tips when you use a nonprescription medicine: |
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Symptoms to Watch For During Home Treatment
Use the Check Your Symptoms section to evaluate your symptoms if any of the following occur during home treatment:
- Signs of dehydration develop.
- Signs of infection develop.
- Symptoms persist or become more severe or frequent.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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Only 18.5% of Americans never floss. You are missing out on a simple way to make a big difference in the health of your mouth. Regardless of how well you brush, plaque still forms between your teeth and along your gums. Floss removes food trapped between the teeth and removes the film of bacteria that forms there before it turns to plaque, which can cause inflamed gums (gingivitis), cavities, and tooth loss. Try flossing just one tooth to get started.
You are one of 31% of Americans who don't floss daily. You are missing out on a simple way to make a big difference in the health of your mouth. Regardless of how well you brush, plaque still forms between your teeth and along your gums. Toothbrush bristles alone cannot clean effectively between these tight spaces. Flossing removes up to 80% of the film that hardens to plaque, which can cause inflamed gums (gingivitis), cavities, and tooth loss. Aim for 3 more days!
You are one of 31% of Americans who don't floss daily, but you're well on your way to making a positive impact on your teeth and gums. Regardless of how well you brush, plaque still forms between your teeth and along your gums. Toothbrush bristles alone cannot clean effectively between these tight spaces. Flossing removes up to 80% of the film that hardens to plaque, which can cause inflamed gums (gingivitis), cavities, and tooth loss. Aim for all 7 days!
Only 50.5% of Americans floss daily, and good for you that you are one of them! Regardless of how well you brush, plaque still forms between your teeth and along your gums. Toothbrush bristles alone cannot clean effectively between these tight spaces. Flossing removes up to 80% of the film that hardens to plaque, which can cause inflamed gums (gingivitis), cavities, and tooth loss. Congratulations on your good oral health habit!
SOURCES:
American Dental Association, Healthy People 2010
This tool is intended only for adults 18 and older.
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