--- title: How to Get Rid of Canker Sores And Prevent Their Return description: If you find you're getting canker sores, avoid spicy foods or acidic fruits, which can irritate the mouth. canonical: https://time.com/4561282/canker-sore-prevention/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-11T14:52:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:40:36.349Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Get Rid of Canker Sores og:description: And prevent them from coming back og:url: https://time.com/4561282/canker-sore-prevention/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa46d3ca74879b6b/6988ad620b72e32d2f6eba6d/canker-sore-prevention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: A close-up of a dental floss container on bright green og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Get Rid of Canker Sores twitter:description: And prevent them from coming back twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa46d3ca74879b6b/6988ad620b72e32d2f6eba6d/canker-sore-prevention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Get Rid of Canker Sores > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=c18a11b5-6ad0-4f12-833c-4f1b39eeda6a&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Roshini Rajapaksa, MD / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Roshini Rajapaksa, MD / Health.com Contributor Nov 11, 2016 2:52 PM UTC  dental floss on green dental floss on green Getty Images by [Roshini Rajapaksa, MD / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Roshini Rajapaksa, MD / Health.com Contributor Nov 11, 2016 2:52 PM UTC Canker sores are frustrating and painful. If you find you’re getting canker sores often, the solution may be as simple as avoiding spicy foods or acidic fruits, which can irritate the mouth. Also, try brushing and flossing right after meals to help remove food particles stuck between your teeth. And stop using any toothpastes or mouth rinses that contain sodium lauryl sulfate, a chemical that can be harsh on soft tissue, potentially causing canker sores. **_Health.com:_** [_The Best and Worst Foods for Your Teeth_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20687551,00.html/?xid=time) If you have stubborn sores, you could be deficient in certain nutrients, such as folate, [iron](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20798655,00.html), or [vitamin B12](http://www.health.com/nutrition/vitamin-b12-foods). Make sure you’re eating a well-balanced diet (you can get folate from beans and vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, and iron and B12 from tuna and eggs, among other foods). Consult your doctor if you think you need a supplement. Stress can also trigger the sores, so getting plenty of sleep and finding ways to tame tension may help prevent them. Less frequently, canker sores can be linked to conditions like [inflammatory bowel disease](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20462893,00.html) (such as [Crohn’s](http://www.health.com/crohns-disease) and [ulcerative colitis](http://www.health.com/ulcerative-colitis)) and [HIV](http://www.health.com/hiv). So if lifestyle adjustments don’t make a difference, it’s worth seeing a doctor. **_Health.com:_** [_Is It Safe to Whiten Your Teeth with Activated Charcoal Toothpaste?_](http://www.health.com/oral-health/charcoal-toothpaste/?xid=time) Notice a canker sore developing? Try gargling with salt water. You can also apply an over-the-counter topical ointment directly on the sore to ease pain. Usually canker sores hurt for only a few days and go away completely in a week or two. But if you have a severe, painful one, your doctor may prescribe a special mouth rinse or corticosteroid ointment. Health’_s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is assistant professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine._ _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/oral-health/how-to-get-rid-canker-sores/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4561282/canker-sore-prevention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4561282/canker-sore-prevention/"},"headline":"How to Get Rid of Canker Sores","datePublished":"2016-11-11T14:52:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:40:36.349Z","description":"And prevent them from coming back","url":"https://time.com/4561282/canker-sore-prevention/","keywords":["medicine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa46d3ca74879b6b/6988ad620b72e32d2f6eba6d/canker-sore-prevention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Roshini Rajapaksa, MD / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa46d3ca74879b6b/6988ad620b72e32d2f6eba6d/canker-sore-prevention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A close-up of a dental floss container on bright green","caption":"A close-up of a dental floss container on bright green","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/medicine/","name":"medicine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4561282/canker-sore-prevention/","name":"How to Get Rid of Canker Sores"}}]}] ```