I am a 76-year-old women and the corners of my mouth keep cracking and bleeding. I have had dentures for the past eight years. Can you give me some advice as to what is going on. Is it the dentures?
Thanks, Lois
Dear Lois,
It sounds like you a condition known as Angular Chelitis. This causes one to have cracks or lesions at the corners of the lips. It can repair itself if mild, however your case doesn’t sound mild.
In order to treat this condition, you’ll need to discover the root cause. Yes, dentures can be the problem. When your teeth are extracted, especially toward the front of your mouth, it can start to close over on itself if there’s no support. This leads to cheilosis. If your dentures don’t fit properly it causes the same problem.
First, have your dentures looked at by another dentist to see if it’s the culprit and if so, a new one will need to be made, preferably by a different dentist.
If that’s not the cause, here are some other conditions that lead to Angular Chelitis:
- Deficiency in riboflavin, iron, and/or zinc
- Anorexia or Bulimic
- Constantly biting or licking the lips
- Medications that dry out the skin
- Deficiency in protein within the diet. This is very common in the elderly
- Bacterial or fungal infections. For example Herpes Simplex, Staphylococcus, and candida albicans
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