my poor, sore mouth

Last Wednesday, on the 4th of July, we went to see "Transformers." (It was a GREAT movie! I would highly recommend it!) During the movie, B and I polished off a great big huge popcorn, yum! (We hadn't had lunch!)

The next morning, I woke up with a swollen gum on the upper right side of my mouth. I figured some crazy little kernel had gotten stuck in there. Well, I brushed and flossed, flossed and brushed, rinsed with Listerine millions of times, and it's not any better. Well, it's some better, but I can't chew on that side of my mouth. It's now been a WEEK and I'm starting to get worried!

Meanwhile, the NEXT day, I woke up with yet ANOTHER sore on the OTHER side - the upper left side, on the roof of my mouth, right by my back teeth. It felt like something sharp had poked me, like a chip (or maybe even the popcorn!). I did the routine of the flossing, brushing, and Listerine, and it got better, but now it's back. So I'm starving because I can barely eat.

Seriously, this morning I tried to eat some fruit. SOFT fruit. Melon. And even IT hurt. For lunch, I tried a sandwich - PB&J on SOFT bread. Pain. Brian thinks I should go to the dentist. I, however, realize that a teeny bit of soft food is hurting SO bad, so that makes me have horrible visions of the dentist's sharp tools!! :-( What should I do?

I remembered today that when I had my wisdom teeth out (ages ago), I had to rinse with this stuff that was supposed to help the wounds heal. So I set out on a trip to Walgreen's - I was determined to remember what it was. I did - it's Peroxyl - Antiseptic Oral Cleanser. It says I can use it up to 4 times a day. So I'm going to start tonight and see if it helps any.

Does anyone have any advice/experience with anything like this? It's not herpes! It's not cold sores! It's not a TOOTH problem! (Is it hormonal??) I know this is a pity-party post, but I'm seriously starting to wonder what's up!!