Reviewed By:
Luri Lee, DMD (Dentistry)
Dr. Luri Lee graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Biology. She then continued her education at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society. During her time in dental school, Dr. Lee was the recipient of the Spencer N. Frankl Scholarship for her strong academic performance and active participation in the school and community. Following dental school, Dr. Lee stayed at Boston University to complete a one year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program. In 2020 Dr. Lee was recognized among the “10 Under Ten” by the Massachusetts Dental Society for her contributions to the dental community and her volunteer work in Panama. Dr. Lee is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and is a member of the American Dental Association, Massachusetts Dental Society and Academy of General Dentistry.
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Content updated on Dec 17, 2023
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
Worried about your symptoms?
Start the Mouth Ulcer test with our free AI Symptom Checker.
This will help us personalize your assessment.
By starting the symptom checker, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Try one of these related symptoms.
Ulcer in the mouth
Fever blisters
Canker sores
Oral ulcer
With a free 3-min Mouth Ulcer quiz, powered by Ubie's AI and doctors, find possible causes of your symptoms.
This questionnaire is customized to your situation and symptoms, including the following personal information:
Biological Sex - helps us provide relevant suggestions for male vs. female conditions.
Age - adjusts our guidance based on any age-related health factors.
History - considers past illnesses, surgeries, family history, and lifestyle choices.
Your symptoms
Our AI
Your report
Your personal report will tell you
✔ When to see a doctor
✔︎ What causes your symptoms
✔︎ Treatment information etc.
See full list
An oral ulcer is a sore that develops in the soft tissue lining of the gums, tongue, inner cheeks, lips or palate.
Seek professional care if you experience any of the following symptoms
Generally, Mouth ulcer can be related to:
A rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in blood vessels throughout the body. Symptoms may include mouth and genital sores, as well as eye inflammation. As the disease progresses, joints and internal organs could also be affected.
Inflammation of the mouth surface causes ulcers. Various factors can cause this, such as vitamin deficiencies, medications, and autoimmunity (the body's immune system attacking itself). Often, no clear cause is found, and the ulcers heal on their own.
Normal human skin contains bacteria and fungi. Candidiasis occurs when the fungus overgrows and invades the skin. Risk factors include warm moist environments and a weakened immune system.
Herpes labialis
Burn/Scald of Roof of Mouth
Sometimes, Mouth ulcer may be related to these serious diseases:
Acute HIV infection occurs in some people during the first 4 weeks after contracting the HIV virus. The virus rapidly attacks immune cells and causes fever, headache, and sometimes a rash. The patient is highly contagious during this time as the viral load is high. Risk factors for transmitting HIV include unprotected sexual activity and contaminated needle stick injuries (e.g., via tattoos or sharing needles). Rarely, it is transmitted through the transfusion of blood products.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this symptom:
Akintoye SO, Greenberg MS. Recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Dent Clin North Am. 2014 Apr;58(2):281-97. doi: 10.1016/j.cden.2013.12.002. Epub 2014 Jan 21. PMID: 24655523; PMCID: PMC3964366.
Reviewed By:
Luri Lee, DMD (Dentistry)
Dr. Luri Lee graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Biology. She then continued her education at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society. During her time in dental school, Dr. Lee was the recipient of the Spencer N. Frankl Scholarship for her strong academic performance and active participation in the school and community. Following dental school, Dr. Lee stayed at Boston University to complete a one year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program. In 2020 Dr. Lee was recognized among the “10 Under Ten” by the Massachusetts Dental Society for her contributions to the dental community and her volunteer work in Panama. Dr. Lee is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and is a member of the American Dental Association, Massachusetts Dental Society and Academy of General Dentistry.
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Male, 30s
I got more answers in one minute through your site than I did in three hours with Google.
(Sep 29, 2024)
Male, 20s
My experience was great. I was worried, but the symptom checker helped me narrow down what it might be. I feel a little relieved compared to when I first started, and it gives me a starting point for what my symptoms could mean.
(Sep 27, 2024)
Male, 50s
The questions asked and possible causes seemed spot on, putting me at ease for a next-step solution.
(Sep 26, 2024)
Female, 40s
I was actually very impressed with the results it provided because, although I didn’t mention it during the questionnaire because I thought it was unrelated, it suggested I may have something I’ve actually been diagnosed with in the past.
(Sep 25, 2024)
Our symptom checker AI is continuously refined with input from experienced physicians, empowering them to make more accurate diagnoses.
“World’s Best Digital
Health Companies”
Newsweek 2024
“Best With AI”
Google Play Best of 2023
“Best in Class”
Digital Health Awards 2023 (Quarterfinalist)
Which is the best Symptom Checker?
Ubie’s symptom checker demonstrated a Top-10 hit accuracy of 71.6%, surpassing the performance of several leading symptom checkers in the market, which averaged around 60% accuracy in similar assessments.
Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1