Most mouth sores heal on their own within one to two weeks, but you can speed things up and cut the pain significantly with the right approach. The first step is figuring out what kind of sore you’re dealing with, because treatment differs depending on the type. The most common culprit is a canker sore, which forms inside the mouth and responds well to simple home remedies and over-the-counter products.
Identify What You’re Dealing With
The two most common mouth sores are canker sores and cold sores (fever blisters), and the easiest way to tell them apart is location. Canker sores only form inside your mouth: on the inner cheeks, lips, tongue, or gums. They look like single round white or yellow sores with a red border. Cold sores, on the other hand, form on the outside of your mouth, usually around the border of your lips, and appear as clusters of small fluid-filled blisters.
This distinction matters because cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus and need antiviral treatment to resolve faster. Canker sores have no single known cause. They can be triggered by a bite to the inside of your cheek, stress, smoking, or nutritional deficiencies in iron, folate, or vitamin B12. The rest of this article focuses primarily on canker sores and general mouth sores, since those are what most people are searching about.
Salt Water Rinse: Your First Line of Defense
A salt water rinse is the simplest and most effective thing you can do at home. Mix one teaspoon of salt into eight ounces of warm water, swish it around your mouth for 30 seconds, and spit. Do this a few times a day, especially after meals. If the rinse stings too much, cut the salt down to half a teaspoon for the first day or two.
Salt water works by shifting the pH in your mouth toward a more alkaline environment. Harmful bacteria thrive in acidic conditions, so raising the pH makes it harder for them to survive. The salt also draws excess fluid out of inflamed tissue through osmosis, which reduces swelling and helps the sore heal faster. It won’t eliminate the sore overnight, but it creates the best possible conditions for healing.
Over-the-Counter Pain Relief
If the sore is making it hard to eat or talk, a topical numbing gel containing benzocaine can provide temporary relief. These are available at any pharmacy as gels, pastes, or liquids that you apply directly to the sore. Benzocaine numbs the area on contact, which can make meals significantly more tolerable. Follow the directions on the label and don’t use these products longer than recommended, as they’re designed for short-term relief while the sore heals on its own.
You can also look for over-the-counter protective pastes that coat the sore and shield it from further irritation. These are especially useful if the sore is in a spot that rubs against your teeth or the inside of your cheek.
Honey as a Natural Alternative
Honey applied directly to a mouth sore is more than a folk remedy. Multiple clinical studies have found that topical honey performs as well as, or better than, standard pharmacy gels for both pain reduction and healing time. In one study, honey was associated with significantly less severe oral ulcers compared to a numbing gel, with only 1 out of 20 patients in the honey group developing severe sores versus 15 out of 20 in the gel group. Other research found honey produced the fastest healing when compared directly to benzocaine gel.
To try this, dab a small amount of honey directly onto the sore a few times a day. Raw, unprocessed honey appears to work best. It won’t sting the way salt water can, which makes it a good option if you’re dealing with a particularly painful sore.
When a Sore Won’t Go Away
Minor canker sores, the kind smaller than a pea, typically heal within a few weeks without leaving a scar. Major canker sores, larger than about one centimeter, are a different story. They can be extremely painful and take months to fully heal, sometimes leaving scars behind.
If any mouth sore hasn’t healed within two weeks, it’s worth having a doctor or dentist look at it. A sore that lingers beyond that window could signal something other than a routine canker sore, and your provider may want to take a small tissue sample to rule out other conditions. Sores that keep coming back in the same spot, grow unusually large, or come with fever also deserve professional attention.
Prescription Options for Severe Cases
For sores that are large, extremely painful, or keep recurring, a doctor can prescribe stronger treatments. A prescription mouth rinse containing a steroid can reduce inflammation and pain more effectively than anything available over the counter. For individual sores, prescription-strength topical creams deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the site.
There’s also a topical solution called Debacterol that works by chemically cauterizing the sore, which can shorten healing time to about a week. For the most stubborn cases that don’t respond to any topical treatment, oral steroid medications are sometimes used as a last resort.
Prevent the Next One
If you get mouth sores frequently, your toothpaste may be part of the problem. Many toothpastes contain sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a foaming agent that strips away the protective mucus layer inside your mouth and leaves the tissue underneath more vulnerable. In one study, people who switched to an SLS-free toothpaste saw their number of canker sores drop from an average of 14.3 to just 5.1 over the study period. SLS-free toothpastes are widely available and worth trying if you deal with recurring sores.
Nutritional gaps can also drive recurrent sores. Deficiencies in vitamin B12, folate, and iron are all linked to chronic canker sores. If you notice a pattern of sores that keep coming back, a blood test can check these levels. Addressing a deficiency through diet or supplements often reduces how frequently sores appear.
Sores From Braces or Dental Work
If your sores are caused by braces brackets or wires rubbing against the inside of your mouth, orthodontic wax is the fix. Pinch off a small piece, roll it into a ball, and press it over the bracket or wire that’s causing irritation. The wax creates a smooth barrier between the metal and your soft tissue, preventing new sores from forming and letting existing ones heal. You can buy orthodontic wax at any pharmacy, and your orthodontist likely gave you some when your braces were placed. Sharp edges on chipped teeth or rough fillings can cause the same problem, and a dentist can smooth those down quickly.