Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have had canker sores ever since I was a child. I have tried at least 20 different products. (Probably closer to 50). I am going to tell you the best 3 step method (so far that I have found that does not involve a dentist office) for helping with pain AND speeding healing for cankers. This product is essential to the process. 1. Swish mouth (or if canker is in an easy access place you can cover the sore with mouth rinse) for at least 30 seconds using a cleansing, antiseptic mouth rinse that has hydrogen peroxide 1.5% or my favorite carbamide peroxide 10%. Then spit out. There are others available, but these are most common. 2. Pat the sore dry with a paper towel. Keep it dry for this step. Apply 2-3 drops of this product, Durham’s Canker-Rid, that contains propolis to the tip of a q-tip. Before the product gets absorbed by the q-tip, apply the q-tip with the product to the canker sore. THIS NEXT PART IS IMPORTANT: Hold the q-tip on the canker sore for 2-5 minutes. It will burn and sting like a mother and may even bring tears to your eyes depending on where the canker is and how severe it is. If it doesn’t burn, the liquid did not come in contact with the most painful part of the ulcer. Put a few more drops on a q-tip. You may need to roll it slightly to find the most painful part of the canker. This propolis liquid works sort as a temporary cauterizing agent. You may need to tilt your head back to keep from drooling on yourself. Hold it until it stops burning, usually 3-4 minutes. It tastes bad and will temporary stain the area where the canker is a dark brown. Throw away the q-tip after it stops burning. Rinse your mouth with water (if you would rather you can rinse as often as you like with warm salt water or warm H2O with 1 tsp of baking soda). You should notice when you rinse that almost all of the pain is gone. If not, you didn’t get all of the ulcer and you need to do the burning q-tip step once again. 3. Apply an Aloe Vera canker sore pain relief gel with q-tip or finger. This should be soothing and not hurt. The gel is from a very common brand that makes almost all types of oral hygiene products. Leave the gel covering the canker area (which is usually a big brown stain from the Canker-Rid) without touching anything for 2 minutes. During that time try not to touch it with your tongue. This allows the gel to form a protective layer over the sore that acts like a temporary barrier. Avoid eating or drinking for an hour (or re-apply the aloe barrier gel if you do). Most cankers will start healing and no longer hurt after doing the 3 steps one or two times. You can go through the steps as often as you need to. I believe I have more than 10 in my mouth right now. There are 2 big ones next to each other under my tongue that are awful. I went through the steps just now as I am typing this. I had to do the burning q-tip step 3 times! If one is very painful or you have several in your mouth, it is recommended to see a dentist for a diode (cold) laser treatment that stops the pain from cankers. I am not sure how much it is, but I doubt it is covered by insurance. Maybe others know more about the laser. I looked to see if I could buy the laser, but that darn thing is over 4K. I even tried a laser I had for pimples on my cankers, but no surprise: did not help. I have had so many cankers lately (nonstop at least 5-10+ in my mouth at a time the last few weeks), that I started to do some research and try new things preventatively, such as packets you mix with H2O that have vitamins & probiotics, Manuka honey raw, some cough drop-like thing that contains Manuka honey & propolis (same thing in this product; there is evidence that it has healing properties) and a propolis oral spray that you spray in your mouth (& throat if needed). If I think one of those is making a big difference, I will write another review. Two things I do NOT recommend: canker patches you put on your sore before bed and it covers it for up to 12 hours. I woke up 12 hours later feeling the puffy patch on my tongue because it is so foreign. It finally dissolved and my tongue canker felt better with just plain rest. Second thing is a preventative daily mouth rinse with hydrogen peroxide and no alcohol. Sounds great, but it also contains SLS (evil detergent or surfactant if you’d rather that causes and worsens cankers). I swear a canker popped up right after I used it. I did some research and had a mini epiphany about why I am afflicted with so many cankers when I haven’t had them for years. Studies show that other than physical trauma such as biting your lip, low levels of certain vitamins are the main culprit. Studies were showing specifically B vitamins, though one study showed low iron. I have been having a nonstop burping issue for months and wouldn’t you know it, duh!, stopped taking my daily vitamins because of it. My iron was on the fence and my cankers were under control before I started iron, so I believe it is B vitamins. I have been taking a prescription medical food that had the active forms of 3 B vitamins for a rare nerve disease since about 2012. With my tummy problem for the last 7 months, I stopped taking them. It was too hard to take all the pills in my normal regimen, so I only took what was absolutely important. I think that not taking my vitamins over months depleted my stores to where now I am deficient, thus having a ton of canker sores. I just started taking them again and I have faith that once I replete my stores, that I will once again have my cankers under control. In the meantime, I am still searching for the fastest way to stop the canker pain.