Common lesions of the oral mucosa

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Patients with canker sores or cold sores (fever blisters) may be frustrated by the episodic nature of these lesions and may consult the primary care physician only after repeated attempts at home therapy have failed. In some cases, the physician can deduce the cause from the history and the appearance of the lesion and prescribe a simple, effective treatment; other entities in the differential diagnosis necessitate laboratory studies and aggressive, sometimes long-term therapy.