6 Natural Remedies For Your Canker Sores

I've been plagued with canker sores since I was approximately 7 years old, and I've cursed every single one of them. They make eating painful and embarrassing—chomping down on one can make you see stars, forcing you to chew gingerly with your mouth half open—and I sometimes get awful Cheerio-sized sores that ache so much they wake me up at night. Luckily they're not contagious, but that's really the only positive thing about them.

Not to be confused with cold sores, canker sores are open wounds that form in the soft tissue inside the mouth, usually on the inner lips and cheeks, gums, and tongue. (Cold sores, on the other hand, are blisters on the lips and outer edges of the mouth caused by the herpes simplex virus.) The ulcers are typically white and round, with an angry red ring around the outer edge. They usually take 1 to 2 (very looong) weeks to heal, depending on the size, though I've had some stick around for closer to 3. It's not known for sure what causes them, but they're generally thought to be triggered by minor injuries like biting your cheek, irritants in the mouth, stress, nutritional deficiencies, and food sensitivities and allergies, says Bill Crutchfield, DDS, an orthodontist in Northern Virginia. But that's not all—the US National Library of Medicine adds we can also blame hormonal changes, family history, a weak immune system, and having two X chromosomes, as women are more likely to get them than men.

Avoid acidic and sugary foods.

As soon as I feel a canker sore coming on, I give up my daily glass of orange juice. Acids can irritate canker sores further, causing a burning sensation, and lengthening the healing process, says Rajan Sharma, DDS, owner of EON Clinics. "Keep in mind that the bacteria in your mouth also turn sugar into acid," he adds. "This is one of the leading causes of tooth decay, but it may prolong canker sores as well."

Change your toothpaste.

According to the Mayo Clinic, toothpastes and mouth rinses containing sodium lauryl sulfate, a commonly used foaming agent, may trigger canker sores in some people. I hoped switching to an SLS-free toothpaste, like Rodale's Peppermint + Charcoal Brightening Toothpaste, would eliminate my sores for good, but sadly this wasn't the cure-all solution for me. Still, the SLS-free stuff didn't irritate my canker sores as much as other toothpastes, so I'm sticking with it.

Gargle salt water.

This is the method my dentist recommended to me, and aside from not tasting very pleasant, it works fairly well. The salt cleans and dehydrates the sore to help it heal, and it numbs the pain temporarily. But be warned—it will be intensely painful at first, before the numbing sets in. I typically use about a teaspoon of salt in a coffee mug of water.

Swish with baking soda.

I read about this method on a few different websites during a desperate search for a cure, and I like it as an alternative to the salt water treatment. Baking soda is an alkaline, so it helps neutralize acids in the mouth that are irritating the sore, while cleaning and soothing at the same time. I use a teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of warm water and swish several times a day for a couple of minutes.

Rinse with hydrogen peroxide.

Crutchfield recommends rinsing with hydrogen peroxide to treat canker sores, and it's recently become my favorite mouthrinse option. Hydrogen peroxide is an antiseptic, so it cleans the sore and promotes healing, but it doesn't burn the way salt water does. It also curbs the pain momentarily, and makes my mouth feel all-around clean. Plus, hydrogen peroxide is the active ingredient in some OTC canker sore gels, so why not cut right to the chase? I like to use a solution of half water and half peroxide.

Apply milk of magnesia.

You may know milk of magnesia, or magnesium hydroxide, as a solution for heartburn and constipation. Well, it turns out it's also a help in beating canker sores. Like, baking soda, milk of magnesia is an alkaline, which neutralizes stomach acid—or, in this case, acid that's irritating your canker sore. Milk of magnesia also forms a film over the sore, which helps temporarily protect it from irritants. I like to use it as a rinse, but you can also dab it directly on the sore with a Q-tip or your finger.