Common lesions of the oral mucosa. A guide to diseases of the lips, cheeks, tongue, and gingivae.

Canker sores and cold sores are common, relatively banal diseases of the oral mucosa and lips, occurring most often in young persons. Some otherwise healthy patients may have a more severe variant, such as major aphthous ulcers, recurring lesions of aphthous stomatitis, or acute herpetic gingivostomatitis. Other patients may present with severe recurrent herpes simplex labialis or chronic oral candidiasis, and in these patients an immunodeficiency state must be considered.