Ulcerative stomatitis: how to alleviate the suffering of the patient

Ulcerative stomatitis causes great suffering to the patient, because it affects the mucous membranes very deeply with sharp pain with any movement of the lips or tongue. The oral cavity becomes significantly inflamed, the patient experiences general malaise. In the absence of adequate treatment, ulcerative stomatitis becomes chronic or can even threaten with serious complications. Most often, ulcerative stomatitis occurs in young children, but elderly patients can also suffer from it, and its ulcerative-necrotic form often affects young men aged 20-40 years.

 Manifestations of ulcerative stomatitis and its main symptoms

Ulcerative stomatitis is an inflammatory process in which the oral cavity suffers from a violation of the integrity of all layers of the mucous membrane. Ulcerative stomatitis manifests itself in the tongue, gums, lips, palate, inner surface of the cheeks.

The cause of ulcerative stomatitis is most often external stimuli, but the disease can also develop against the background of some internal pathologies.

Factors contributing to the development of ulcerative stomatitis:

• tartar, plaque;
• untreated carious teeth;
• oral dysbacteriosis;
• use of toothpastes and rinses with components that dry out the oral mucosa;
• microtrauma in the oral cavity;
• damage to the oral mucosa during prosthetics, dental treatment.

Ulcerative stomatitis can be provoked or aggravated by a bacterial infection, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, viral infections, allergies, immunodeficiencies, metabolic disorders.

An important factor that often contributes to the development of ulcerative stomatitis is the lack of vitamins in the body, especially vitamin C, B vitamins, as well as poor and inadequate nutrition.

 The main symptoms of ulcerative stomatitis:

• redness, swelling and burning sensation along the edge of the gums and in the spaces between  teeth;
• round sores with a grayish coating on the cheeks, on the gums, under the tongue;
• strong salivation;
• putrid odor from the mouth;
• general malaise, fever;
• sharp pain when swallowing, talking, eating.

With ulcerative stomatitis, lymph nodes can thicken and become painful, sleep is disturbed. The acute period of the disease usually lasts about 2 weeks. Without adequate treatment, the transition of ulcerative stomatitis to a chronic form and the development of complications are likely – otitis media, rhinitis, pleurisy, endocarditis, and periodontitis – with probable loss of teeth.

 Diagnosis,  treatment and complications of ulcerative stomatitis

The dentist usually makes the diagnosis of ulcerative stomatitis based on the patient's complaints and visual examination of the oral cavity. But if the doctor assumes that ulcerative stomatitis has developed as a symptom of one of the internal diseases (for example, diabetes mellitus), a blood test and consultation with specialists is recommended.

Treatment of ulcerative stomatitis consists not only in the relief of symptoms, but also in the elimination of the root cause of the disease. The oral cavity is irrigated with solutions of furacilin or chlorhexidine, herbal decoctions, applications of metrogildent gel, regenerating ointments, proteolytic enzymes are recommended.

Timely treatment of ulcerative stomatitis leads to a fairly quick recovery, but without adequate therapy, the process can become chronic, and periodontal disease can develop.