My wife is pregnant and has awful mouth ulcers, how can she treat them?!

My wife is pregnant and has awful mouth ulcers, how can she treat them?

She is in a lot of pain and we are unsure how to treat them. After looking on the net many treatments are unclear as to whether they are safe or not. Currently she is using an oraldine rinse and a couple of drops of tea tree oil in water to rinse/gargle her mouth with. She is only 9 1/2 half weeks in and is exhausted so doesn't want to go to the doc at the moment. Anyone had this problem? Any advice please?

I have the greatest sympathy for your wife as I used to suffer from the most dreadful mouth ulcers along the sides of my tongue.

Whilst I totally agree with Dr. Frank about caring for the foetus, the temporary use of mouthwash will not cause as much harm as poor nutrition due to the inability to eat and drink properly.

The first thing to do is to immediately cease use of a toothpaste that contains sodium lauryl sulphate. It could simply be that your wife has become sensitive to this ingredient and it is acknowledged to cause mouth ulcers, particularly in women.

You can buy Retardex toothpaste, Sensodyne gel and herbal toothpastes that do not contain it.

avoid all spicy foods.

try the temporary use of a mouthwash that is proven to treat mouth ulcers (your wife will be spitting it out, not swallowing it, so your baby will be safe)) Colgate peroxil works very quickly. use 1/2 cm after brushing. Hold in mouth as long as possible(should literally be foaming at mouth), spit out, but do not wash away.
(I use this mouthwash myself)

with fingers crossed, I reassure your wife that this is probably due to a hormonal fluctuation and should settle down soon. try the above to see if it helps.

best wishes.