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Dry Mouth & Canker Sores
In November of 2025, I developed a canker sore the size of a dime on the inside of my right cheek. This is the side that received the most radiation to treat my tongue cancer in 2021. I confirmed it was not cancer with a biopsy. It took 2 months to disappear. I had noted that my dry mouth had become worse during the summer of 2025 since tablets & lozenges were no longer dissolving overnight in my mouth.
In March 2026, two canker sores appeared in the same place, with two more appearing on the underside of my tongue. They abated after a few weeks.
In April, they came back and now I have more on the inside of my other cheek as well as painful inflammation of my gums and lips. I am still dealing with it, though the extreme irritation of the gums has gone down. I sent my ENT doc pics to inquire if I should have him look at the sores in person, but his opinion was that they looked like more canker sores and offered to prescribe lidocaine for the pain until they go away.
Has anyone experienced this? I rinse my mouth with salt water multiple times daily. I have used Biotene spray & rinse (which sting like crazy), All Day Dry Mouth spray (also stings but not as bad), Biotene & Xyligel gels, ACT dry mouth lozenges & XyllMelt tablets. I load my mouth up with a combo of this stuff at night, in particular, but I usually wake up at least once in the night with bad dry mouth and have to reapply spray & gels.
Does anyone have any more suggestions?
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Hello @pnlees I have dealt with dry mouth for 14 years since surgery. I avoid the sprays because of the irritating base that causes the stinging. I use the dissolving tablets and gels. When canker sores appear I try to use Abreva topical cream which is meant for sores outside the mouth, but can be applies with a Qtip inside once you dry the lesion. It shortens the painful period and helps healing. I also use an ultrasonic humidifier beside my bed at night and make sure I am very well hydrated during the day. Sometimes an electrolyte drink is more hydrating than water. Staying hydrated is such an important part, I have found. Boosting your immune system can help to fight this also. Research beta glucan which is found in mushrooms and yeast as a good stimulant. I purchase Glucan Elite via Amazon as the processing is important for efficacy. Cheaper is not better. There are other mouth washes specifically for pain which I have used in the past along with Biotene. The oral lidocaine gel is a good temporary fix to use prior to eating. Take your ENT up on that suggestion.
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1 ReactionI'm the one in our house who had mouth cancer. My husband had suffered from canker sores every time he ate anything with tomatoes in it. He uses this mouthwash daily and it prevents any canker sores. Two years and no mouth sores! I buy it off Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Prevention-Mouth-Sore-Mouthwash-Inflammation/dp/B08XSDC6KN/ref=asc_df_B08XSDC6KN
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1 Reaction@sandy8043 I ordered that rinse today. I figure it will feel better than the Biotene rinse. Thank you for the suggestion!
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1 ReactionMy dentist suggested oil pulling with coconut oil after eating and before bed to help with dental and dry mouth issues
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2 ReactionsJust due to having a nightmare with soft teeth all my adult life-lots of dental work-biting my cheeks, here is what work, Really do:
STELLALIFE-they have a rinse and pain gel that is vegan, homeopathetic and gave me relief from having Eight teeth pulled that were still alive at once lower front teeth- more than the opioids or any other pain reliever. I use it fir sore guns from my temps and canker sores also. You can buy it through
stellalife.com. The gel tube is $33 but even with daily use multi usage daily can last 4-6 months. On my honor, this works.
Biotene brand has an excellent dry mouth gel I have in purse, car and every room in my house as my meds and sinuses cause my dry mouth 24/7-except when I have used their gel.
These two brands are life savers from a person with a sore mouth over forty years time!
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3 Reactions@sepdvm I hope it seem exaggerated my cheers for Biotene and Stellalife! I misspelled a lot out of typing way too fast, btw. Anyway, I just hope to spread the word in hopes of helping anyone suffering with oral issues. I have for so long-trying every product from Anbesol and salt water rinses. The above products are also in very handy tubes for purse and pocket. And, very discrete.
Hope all of you have the help I got from both of these special innovations. If I do find anything else as I check constantly, I will write to this chat!
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2 Reactions@sandy8043 - Update: Tried that Prevention mouth rinse, which is essentially hydrogen peroxide with a mint flavor. My tissues were so irritated that it burned so much! It took everything I had to keep it in my mouth for 60 seconds. But this morning everything feels better after a salt-water rinse. We shall see if I will be able to use the Prevention rinse again without the horrible burning. Perhaps tor someone with radiated oral tissues if is not the best thing, but I thank you for passing on what worked for your husband.
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1 Reaction@pnlees So sorry! I know Prevention makes a mouth rinse for cancer mouth sores, too. I bought it but never used it. I only had one sore and it healed quickly. I only used baking soda rinses. Even now if I eat something that irritated my tongue. The baking soda rinse works for me. Sorry you had a bad experience.
@sandy8043 I so appreciate your giving me a suggestion to try! Have a good day!
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1 Reaction@pnlees I appreciate that. Also I should,mention that as a result of my whole tongue cancer ordeal I wound up with an allergy to mint. Any toothpaste or fluoride treatment, candy, gum, anything mint causes all of my mouth surfaces to swell up in pain! My fluoride treatment is now a children's fruit flavor....yuck! Early on I was able to use Xylimelts mints overnight...then one night my mouth, tongue and throat swelled up. Since then even a small amount of mint toothpaste creates havoc.