Poor thing – the little fuckers hurt, don’t they? I’ve just gotten over my latest bout (I had one inside my check, one big bastard on my upper lip right in front, and one way in the back where my jaw hinges. I’ve had them so long and so often I hardly notice the little ones – but I get a really big painful one once or twice a year and I swear it just poisons my whole head. Hurts so bad I actually feel sick.
I’ve heard of people having good luck switching to the non-SLS toothpaste, although it didn’t help me (I bought used the expensive and nasty-tasting Rembrandt for 2 years and noticed no reduction in the sores). Worth a try, though – some people really swear by it and there does seem to be some science to back it up.
I never use Ambesol or Orajel – I’m firmly of the opinion that they make the sore last longer. What I do is brush my teeth and use mouthwash (Listerine or Peroxydl) 4 or 5 times a day. Keeping my mouth really clean does seem to hasten the healing and make it feel a little better.
I used to get them a lot as a child, but now none. I wonder why? Maybe it will make the OP feel better if s/he’s young and might have a sore-free future ahead like me.
I remember a doctor prescribed a topical analgesic which tasted really bitter but worked great. I can’t remember what it was. I’m wondering if the salt trick does anything. Seems like the sores might heal by themselves, and the painful salt application is giving a false sense that it is doing something.
I also heard that the aspirin trick is a bad idea… it makes the pain go away but causes more injury to the site.
Actually, Rembrandt makes several types of toothpastes only one of which is SLS-free. Their main business is tooth whitening toothpaste. You have to get the one in the purple-ish box. It definitely is more expensive than regular toothpastes and takes a little getting used to because it doesn’t get all foamy ('cause it’s the SLS that makes the foam.) Biotene is expensive too but I think that Rembrandt tastes better.
For anyone with a canker sore, I highly recommend this stuff. It won’t make the thing go away, unfortunately, but it will stop it from being painful for quite a while, which is especially useful for meal times.
And one little tube will probably last you your entire lifetime. The one in my medicine cabinet is . . . hold on, let me check . . . yep, it’s a decade old, and it’s still 9/10 full.
Canker sores do have one beneficial side-effect, in my experience. I always lose some weight when I’ve got a nasty one – it hurts too bad to eat for recreation. I lost 3 pounds over the course of the 2-week bout I mentioned in my first post.
Ugh, I hate canker sores. I hope it heals soon for you, alice.
When I was 12, I had a sudden… outbreak of canker sores. The entire inside of my mouth was covered with them. The insides of my lips, my gums, even a lot of my tongue were covered. It hurt even to swallow spit. I had to have a liquid diet through a straw, and even that was hard, because I had to have the straw pushed way back past most of the sores and near the back of my throat.
I wonder why? Maybe it will make the OP feel better if s/he’s young and might have a sore-free future ahead like me. 
I’m wondering if the salt trick does anything. Seems like the sores might heal by themselves, and the painful salt application is giving a false sense that it is doing something.