Discover our study on mouth ulcers

Accomplished during more than 6 months in several European countries, this study has gathered more than 10 000 persons suffering from mouth ulcers. They have agreed to testify by giving us information on frequency, pain, number of their mouth ulcers, and to tell us their experience.

Causes of mouth ulcers are still unknown but this study gives a better understanding of who suffer from mouth ulcers and what people are expecting in terms of treatment.

You too, do not hesitate to join our study or to read the testimonials .

8 striking facts of the study:

1. Women are more subject to mouth ulcers than men


2. Women have more frequent mouth ulcers than the men


3. Recurring mouth ulcers more commonly affect people less than 45 years


4. People over 45 years of age are the most affected by continuous mouth ulcers


5. The 16-25 year olds are those who have mouth ulcers most frequently


6. There is no link between having often mouth ulcers often and having many ulcers at once


7. For 2 out of 3 people, pain felt due to mouth ulcers is strong or very strong


8. The more frequent the mouth ulcers, the more painful they are

1. Quantitative results:

1.1. Typology of the polling by sex:

1.2. Typology of the polling by age:

1.3. Frequency of mouth ulcers:

1.4. Level of felt pain:

1.5. Number of mouth ulcers per crisis:

1.6. Cross table Frequency/Age:

1.7. Cross table frequency / pain:

1.8. Cross table sex / frequency:

1.9. Cross table number of mouth ulcers / frequency:

1.10. Cross table number of mouth ulcers / Pain:

2.    Qualitative results:

In the study, it was possible to leave a comment. In the section Testimonials , you can find some of these comments, which we chose as being most typical.

Several conclusive points can be taken from these thousands of testimonials: More than 65 % of those polled confess that they haven’t found a satisfactory way to deal with their mouth ulcers, for several reasons:

• because they have it too often to use local treatments or mouthwashes without damaging the oral mucous membranes (these products  burn, reduce the pain of the mouth ulcer but seldom its length and its frequency of appearance)
• Or because existing medical treatments have side effects  making their use very restrictive, they hesitate to use them

Very often, those polled confess "I’ve tried everything", "I lost hope", are upset that their problem of mouth ulcers "is not admitted", that "there is not enough research in this domain" because it is not considered to be a major public health issue. Consequences of their mouth ulcers affect them "in everyday life", with suffering which often prevents them from enjoying life. They often feel a "desire to destroy their mouth ulcers" and do not hesitate to apply various local treatments, but point out that "no preventive treatment allows avoiding mouth ulcers crisis".

Most named felt reasons are:

• stress
• general fatigue sometimes depression ; anger
• The hormonal cycle of the woman (menstrual cycle , menopause)
• The weakness or imbalance of the immune system
• wounds in the mouth
• dental apparels or implants; tartar removal
• dental hygiene
• giving up smoking
• Eat too many sweets
• Eating some foods :
  • Vinegar
  • Pineapple
  • Orange
  • Nuts and dry fruits
  • Chocolate
  • Cheeses
  • An allergy or a reaction to some medication
  • A reaction to some toothpastes
  • Some diseases (Behçet’s, Crohn’s)
  • A lack of vitamins or of oligo-elements.

Most named felt discomforts are:

• pain
• difficulty to eat (pain during the contact with food)
• difficulty to  drink (wine, sour fruit juices, sometimes even  water)
• not being able to savor favorite dishes (chocolate , cheese )
• difficulty to speak (the case with numerous mouth ulcers inside mouth)
• difficulties  to work during crises
• poor sleep
• not daring to kiss his/her partner (fright of contagion, discomfort)
• «can’t take it anymore» attitude in front of the uninterrupted repetition of crises or the reappearance of the same mouth ulcer several times
• Tiredness of using local treatments which do not fix the reason behind mouth ulcers

The most frequent comments on mouth ulcers:

• Seasonality of crisis
• Many children, including babies, are affected
• Many polled persons had many mouth ulcers in their youth, and the frequency of crises has diminished with age
• A family ground: many polled persons having mouth ulcers told us that their parents or their children were in the same case.
• local treatments have no effect on length nor frequency of mouth ulcers
• Vicious circle of the stress which generates mouth ulcers which generate stress etc …
• One of the most frequent  sentences: «I tried everything»
• Strong request / research of home remedies or natural treatments Effectiveness of corticoids but unpleasant side effects (erosion of oral mucous membrane if they are used over a  long period)

The frequent questions on mouth ulcers:

• Are mouth ulcers infectious?
• Are mouth ulcers hereditary?
• Are mouth ulcers an illness or a symptom?
• Mouth ulcers and herpes: is it the same thing?
• How to struggle against the appearance of mouth ulcers?
• Is there a natural treatment?
• What food must I avoid?
• Why do I have mouth ulcers in days preceding my periods?
• What is the link between mouth ulcers and tobacco?
• Are mouth ulcers viral?
• Are mouth ulcers bacterial?
• What are the diseases that can cause mouth ulcers?
• Is there a connection between mouth ulcers and cold sores?
• What is the reason of mouth ulcers?
• What is the best local treatment?
• Is there a local treatment which does not hurt?
• Is it possible to prevent mouth ulcers?

You will find many answers in the section Frequently Asked Questions