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Many years ago I consulted 2 patients suffering from recurrent aphthous ulceration to establish whether they had a toothpaste allergy. I thus proceeded to do many p-tests on the skin but without any positive results. However, replacement of the toothpaste with a simple soap quickly cured the ulcerations. A third case was referred to me with the same symptoms but in this case an unfortunate re-exposure caused a relapse of the ulcerations. At that time, it was unthinkable to speak of any kind of allergy in cases of aphthosis, and I forgot about these observations. I have been retired for a number of years, but 3 months ago, however, I was on a golf course when a competitor mentioned that she had been suffering from a painful aphthosis for many years and asked me how this condition could be ameliorated. I told her to replace her toothpaste with a simple soap. She seemed very skeptical at the time, but 10 days later she informed me that the ulcerations had disappeared.‘ Among the different specialists I consulted, why didn’t anybody tell me this before?’ Research on the Internet reveals that numerous authors are always uncertain about the etiology of aphthosis, whilst others are beginning to suggest a possible allergy.
Finally, in a recent WHO monograph, we found that fluorides easily pass through the mouth ’s mucous membrane but do not cross the skin barrier. This would explain the lack of response of ordinary p-tests. Anyway, in cases of benign aphthosis, replacing toothpaste with normal soap is not such a difficult test. Of course, not all benign recurrent aphthoses respond favorably to this test, but because of its simplicity, it would be unwise not to try it. In cases of fluoride intolerance it would also be important to eliminate, among other items, salts and beverages enriched with fluoride compounds from the family diet and pay more attention to fish and shrimps for example, which concentrate fluorides in their skin.
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