Classification
Minor Aphthous Ulcers (Mikulicz's aphthae) — 80% of cases
Small, shallow ulcers that heal without scarring.
- • <10 mm diameter
- • Non-keratinized mucosa (buccal, labial, floor of mouth, soft palate)
- • 1-5 ulcers per episode
- • Heal in 7-14 days without scarring
- • Recurrence every 1-4 months
Major Aphthous Ulcers (Sutton's disease) — 10-15% of cases
Large, deep, painful ulcers that heal with scarring.
- • >10 mm diameter (can be 1-3 cm)
- • Can affect any oral site including keratinized mucosa
- • 1-10 ulcers per episode
- • Heal in 2-6 weeks with scarring
- • Can cause significant pain and eating difficulty
Herpetiform Ulcers — 5-10% of cases
Multiple tiny ulcers that coalesce — despite name, NOT caused by herpesvirus.
- • 1-3 mm, appear in clusters of 10-100
- • Start as vesicle-like lesions that rapidly ulcerate
- • Coalesce into irregular, ragged larger ulcers
- • Extremely painful; may affect any oral mucosa
- • More common in women and older patients