An article published in 2012 states that...
"Most treatments for RAS are designed to reduce pain and inflammation.[1,2] These palliative treatments do not directly address the underlying cause of this disease, which is unknown. There is a need for targeted treatments that are safer and more effective."
Palliative: relieving pain or alleviating a problem without dealing with the underlying cause.
This introductory commentary outlines two major issues in the current field of healthcare on treating aphthous stomatitis.
- The pathology of the disease is unknown.
- As a result, treatments center around alleviating pain without directly treating the cause of the problem.
From what is currently understood about the disease, it is extremely complex and presentation of the disease may be due to many different factors.
My friend who suffers from strong outbreaks (approximately 5-10 lesions) about once a month receives palliative treatment in the form of corticosteroids and topical anesthetic in the form of a mouthwash. Some may also know this as Magic Mouthwash.
The oral steroids are effective in speeding up recovery and the Magic Mouthwash allows him to eat and drink with significantly less pain. As great as steroids are, most physicians seek to avoid long term steroid use as they may cause problems throughout the body. A list of these problems can be found here.
Bibliography
Topical lavender oil for the treatment of recurrent aphthous ulceration.
Altaei DT.
Am J Dent 2012;25(1):39-43.
Level of Evidence
Level 2: Limited-quality patientoriented evidence
