New Hope For Painful Mouth Sores (NAPSA)—There is good news for more than 50 million Americans who regularly suffer from common mouth ulcers such as canker sores, denture sores and sores resulting from braces or from biting the lip or cheek. Researchers at the University of Washington School of Dentistry say glycyrrhiza herbal extract (GX) shows promise as the first clinically proven over-the-counter medication to speed the healing process and relieve the pain of cankersores. “Preliminary trials tested glycyrrhiza extract delivered as an oral topical, timed-release patch on subjects with newly developed canker sores,” said Michael Martin, DMD, Ph.D., associate professor, Departmentof Oral Medicine, University of Washington. “Patients using the GX patch on a sore up to 16 hours per day reported healing times between one and three days for 98 percent of the ulcers treated. These results are remarkable considering that the typical healing time is seven to 14 days. Many patients also reported that the dises relieved pain while they were in place.” Canker sores are not viral or contagious. The primary causes are: genetic predisposition, psychological stress and oral lacerations from biting or otherwise. Diet may also be a factor in some individuals, though specific triggering foods have not been identified. Traditional over-the-counter and prescription treatments in- volve mouthrinses, oral gels and tablets that contain medicine to numb the sore and form a protec- A unique medicated oral patch has been clinically proven to speed healing and relieve the pain of common mouth sores. tive film over it. While these treatments provide temporary symptomatic pain relief, they may be difficult to use, the numbness can make talking, chewing and swallowing more difficult and they offer no healing benefit. The glycyrrhiza oral patch, known as Cankermelts-GX medicated discs, developed by Orahealth USA, Inc., is unique because its patented delivery system lets the medicated disc stick inside the mouth on or near the sore without getting in the wayof normaltalking, chewing and swallowing. As the time-released medicine is delivered, it appears to promote healing, provides pain relief without numbing in as little as five to 10 minutes, and naturally dissolves over two to six hours. Cankermelts-GX is available in Rite Aid stores. For more information, visit www.orahealth.com.
