 Sores
in the corner of your lips or mouth are collectively known as
"angular chelitis" The causes of angular chelitis are mostly three:
- The cause often
overlooked by dentists is that it is due to infection. The
infection is most likely fungal in nature. You can treat this with
all kinds of OTC meds but until you use an oral anti- fungal
medication it will not go away. e.g. Nystatin.
- Over closed mouth.
Happens mostly in older patients. This is when your upper and
lower teeth lose proper vertical dimension. It happens most often
in patients with deep bites, grinders, clenchers, and denture
wearers. The lower part of your face, that is the area just under
the nose to just underneath the chin is about the same length as
your ear. Lionardo Divinci figured out this proportion long ago.
So if your mouth with teeth together is shorter than your ear not
only can it cause cracks in the corner of your mouth it is not
esthetic. The creases in the corners of the mouth allow saliva to
accumulate. This moisture provides a nice home for fungus and
bacteria Hershel Stoller, MD, dermatology in Omaha recommends
"Acid Mantle" an ointment that has been around for years. It is a
drying agent.
- Vitamin deficiency.
One of the B vitamins. Not seen very often.
 Sometimes
trial and error is required to get the med that works. Nystatin did
not help this patient. Acid Mantle did. You can see it is not
completely healed. That is because the patient is over closed. It
will be a chronic problem until she has her vertical dimension
increased with implants or new upper denture.
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