Laser Cold Sore Treatment (Herpetic Lesions) and Canker Sore (Aphthous Ulcer)

Cold Sore Treatment and Canker Sore Treatment at Old Hook Dental: In addition to many other uses and treatments performed with our soft tissue laser, we offer Canker Sore and Cold Sore treatments right here in our Westwood NJ office.

• The procedure is quick and painless; requiring no anesthesia to be completed.

• Best of all, the treatment *may be covered by your insurance.

About : While the two terms are often confused and used interchangeably, they are not the same. For extreme simplicity, consider one to be a viral lesion (Herpes Virus, Cold Sore) that is highly contagious and found mostly on the border of the lip and the other to be from an impaired immune system or bacterial source (Aphthous Ulcer, Canker Sore), the actual cause is unknown but it is not contagious and generally found on inner oral tissues.

Regardless, both lesions have similar characteristics in that they are extremely common, recurrent, very painful, unsightly, embarrassing and can last for weeks. Traditionally creams, ointments, rinses and pills are used to treat an outbreak once it occurs. Those treatments will typically lessen the symptoms but have little to no effect on the actual size and duration of the outbreak. Cold Sore treatment and Canker Sore treatment with our soft tissue, low intensity laser can dramatically reduce both. We can immediately reduce the associated pain, minimize unsightly lesions, decrease healing time, reduce spreading and eliminate the need for ointments. In addition to providing those benefits, if treated early enough it may even prevent an outbreak from occurring all together. Furthermore, it may also reduce the intensity and frequency of outbreaks in that location in the future. See photos below for a 5 day followup of a Cold Sore treatment performed in our office.

If you are feeling the tingling of an outbreak coming or one has recently occurred, call us today to make an appointment at the earliest possible signs for the best Canker sore and Cold Sore treatment outcome results.

• *Coverage varies based on your particular insurance plan - not all carriers or plans will cover this treatment.

Patient initial presentation of Cold Sore outbreak

Immediate post-op (Increased inflammation and crust formation) 

Day - 2 (Inflammation disappeared, decreased redness, increased crusting)

Day - 3 (decrease in lesion size, outbreak appears contained and minimized)

Day - 4 (Crust has fallen off) Note: Pt is using vaseline 

Day - 5 (Return of mostly normal appearance)