New Natural Fix for Canker Sores (Mouth Ulcers)
Jeff Haley, the inventor of CankerMelts, founder and chief scientist, Orahealth Corporation, the company that makes CankerMelts, based in Bellevue, Washington.
Michael D. Martin, DMD, MA, MSD, MPH, PhD, professor of oral medicine. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
What are Canker sores?
‘Canker sores’ is another name for oral or mouth ulcers
How miserable a malady makes you is not always commensurate with how serious it is. The common belief regarding canker sores is that nothing but time heals them. The traditional painkillers and mouth-numbing agents like benzocaine (Anbesol) help symptoms a bit, but not for long. Now there’s an all-natural remedy that’s getting good reviews called CankerMelts. Based on traditional herbal medicine. cankerMelts are a patented, dissolving oral patch made form licorice root, among other ingredients. To learn more about this product, we consulted Jeff Haley, its inventor, and Michael D. Martin, DMD, MA, MSI), MPH, PhD, the investigator who ran a clinical trial of CankerMelts at the University of Washington.
Unless they become infected, canker sores are not dangerous…but they really, really hurt. These shallow, painful mouth ulcers typically appear on the inside of your lips or cheeks, the base of your gums or under your tongue, as opposed to fever blisters, which are outside on your lips or at the corners of your mouth. Some believe canker sores gave a genetic basis in that they can run in the family, but they,re not contagious. Although anyone can develop them, they appear in women more than men and in teens and young adults more than older adults. The cause isn’t known but canker sores often arise during periods of stress and around the menses. They also may be triggered by poor nutrition and food allergies.
ABOUT CANKERMELTS
CankerMelts provide short-term relief within minutes by coating the sore with collagen Glycyrrhiza extract, derived from licorice root, provides medium-term relief with its anti-inflammatory action. Says Haley, nothing that previous canker sore treatments such as benzocaine merely numb the area temporarily. Also, the older topical ointments are messy and may sting while supplied.
Dr. Martin explains that licorice root contains natural anti-inflammatory properties. This itself, applied directly, may do the trick, even without the other ingredients. Collagen makes up the structure of the cells that line the mouth-and also sticks very well to itself, helping the CankerMelts disc to stick in place. As collagen molecules are released from the disc, they provide a soothing coating to the ulcer. This, along with other active ingredients such as flavonoids, accounts for the pain-relieving and healing qualities of CankerMelts.
TESTING HOW CANKERMELTS WORK
The University of Washington trial included 46 chronic canker sore sufferers who currently had an active sore. Half the participants applied CankerMelts, adhering the discs on a or near the canker sores for, on average, eight hours daily. The other half used no canker sore treatment. At the first visit just prior to beginning treatment and then two, three and seven days afterward, the researchers asked both groups to rate their pain and also checked and photographed the sores. After three days, 81% of the group that used CankerMelts reported they no longer had pain, double the number in the no treatment group. After seven days, treated ulcers shrank by 90%, while the non-treated ulcers had grown larger.
As with most treatments, the earlier applied, the faster the relief. Haley claims that CankerMelts can “stop a canker sore dead in its tracks” if used early enough, preventing pain and inflammation altogether. But even with larger sores that require multiple discs to treat, significant pain relief comes almost immediately and healing is accelerated. They are relatively inexpensive (about $8 for 12 discs, which should be enough to cope with an average sore). They are available at drugstores such as Rite Aid and natural food stores.
Helpful: Our medical export, Andrew L. Rubman, ND, advises to make sure you are getting plenty of antioxidants-zinc and essential fatty acids (EFAs), in particular. These not only help healing but may also discourage canker sores from developing.
New Natural Fix for Canker Sores
