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Does applying a tea bag to a canker sore cause it to diminish or disappear?

Examples of this claim include:

Some doctors suggest putting wet black tea bags on sores. Black tea contains tannin, a substance that can relieve pain. You can also find tannin in some over-the-counter medicines

Have some tea. Several experts, among them dermatologist Jerome Z. Litt, M.D., recommend applying a wet, black tea bag to the ulcer. Black tea contains tannin, an astringent that "may pleasantly surprise you" with its pain-relieving ability, he says. There are over-the-counter medications available that contain tannin, such as Tanac.

Try using a used tea bag on the canker. Press it on the sore like a wad of chewing tobacco and hold it there as long as you can. The tannic acid in the tea is an astringent and will relieve pain and aid healing.

Related: Can vegemite or marmite heal ulcers?

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  • chai and tea are the same thing, so chai tea is rather redundant. – picakhu Jul 07 '11 at 02:51
  • @pikachu I apologize for my ignorance. I assume I am referring to the flavoring that [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai#Plain_chai) identifies as masala chai, known to English speakers as "chai". – WAF Jul 07 '11 at 02:59
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    Do you have a specific source that claims this? I ask because tea (by which I mean Camellia sinensis) has a variety of different active chemical components including caffeine and catechins. I would like to see a proposed mechanism. An interesting sub-question could be "Does applying a tea-bag to the space left by a recently removed tooth help in healing". I was told to do that when I got my wisdom teeth out. – nalgenegirl Jul 07 '11 at 04:09
  • Interesting (and detailed) information about canker sores: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003059.htm – Randolf Richardson Jul 07 '11 at 09:58
  • Is there a scientific claim of this cure? Without citing a reference, there's no issue of "Skepticism" to this question. If you are questioning the accuracy of a public claim, please reference that claim for consideration; otherwise, this question is better suited to [Fitness & Nutrition](http://fitness.stackexchange.com). – Robert Cartaino Jul 07 '11 at 14:49
  • I don't have a reference, but I've always been told this as well. – pfyon Jul 07 '11 at 15:11
  • I've added some references, and re-opened. – Oddthinking Aug 01 '11 at 04:43
  • @picakhu: masala chai is made by brewing tea leaves and spices in hot milk, so it is not the same thing as tea, although this distinction is often lost in English. See [this question](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-usage-of-cha-char-or-chai-to-mean-tea) on EL&U. – nico Aug 01 '11 at 05:32

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