Lumps on gum commonly form on either the upper or the lower jaw, very close to the cheek. In many cases, people do not realize the presence of these lumps, since they are usually painless. However, they do get harden eventually and this is when people usually notice the lumps.
There are numerous things that may cause a lumps to occur on gum. The presence of a flat bone called a torus on the tongue side of the lower jaw or on the hard palate of the mouth is the main reason why it is possible for a lump to grow on gum.
These tori do not generally trigger any complications when your mouth, tongue, gum, and teeth are healthy and well-maintained, and you do not experience any incidents giving a knock on these flat bones.
However, knocked out teeth, removable dentures, and multiple teeth growths may influence the state of these tori, causing the appearance of lumps on gum. Lumps that form on gum are often related to mouth cancer, although in fact, not all gum lumps are cancerous. Specific symptoms, signs, and locations of the occurring lumps may tell you a lot about the main causes of its presence.
A lump on the gums can indicate something very simple or a serious one. Infections might appear as a mass on the gums, and they can also have pain and swelling, and you might run a high fever. Sometimes oral cancers appear as a lump on the gums, and that’s why you should always have a lump on gums checked out, regardless of the reasons for it.
What a lump on gum means
Observing the symptoms and signs of lumps on your gum will enable you to tell what possible causes are.
Examine the texture and characteristic of the lump
Lumps on your gum may be either soft or hard. Hard lump on gum is in most cases, a small bony bump from the torus. It is possible for the torus to be non-malignant, and this often causes hard lump on the gum.
Otherwise, soft gum lump may indicate something different than merely a torus growth. In a few cases, recurrent soft lumps on gum indicate oral cancers, although this diagnosis needs to be drawn based on many others characteristics of the lump and the mouth in general.
Find out the locations where in the lump grows
The most common locations for a gum lump to occur are on the lower jaw near the cheek or on the lower or upper jaw near the wisdom teeth. The lump on these locations are very common as a result of the ruptured gum area from wisdom teeth trying to erupt. This may also cause the swelling of the lymph nodes. A lump on the gum near the site where the wisdom teeth should be may not always be painful, yet it often affects your ability to chew or merely close the mouth.
Determine the color of the lumps
In addition to texture and location of the lump, you can also determine what your lump might convey by seeing through its color. Dark or light shade of the gum lumps may tell what complication might be going on inside the mouth.
- If you have a bright red lump on gum, which is in the form of soft clusters, you might need to anticipate an oral cancer, although a series of tests and examination might still be required. This is possible because a cancer cell will need a steady blood supply in order to maintain its fast growth.
- Dark red colored gum lumps that grow inside the gum, on the inner lip or cheek, or inside the jaw might signify oral cancer symptoms, which require immediate doctor visit.
- If you are suffering from painful-painless lump that is pinkish or light pink in color, it is very likely that you have a mandibular torus growth. This is possible, since the bone is present just under the gum. However, dark pink lesions which stay for more than 2 weeks might show a lot more than merely the torus problem.
Sometimes a lump on the gums is a very mild condition that goes away after a few days. But if the lump on your gums stays for a while, it might mean there is bacterial growth underneath the lump. It could also mean that you have an abscessed tooth. This is important to take care of as an infection of this kind can spread to your surrounding teeth and even to your bloodstream.
I have a bump on my gums what could it be?
The presence of a lump, or mass, on the gums can be caused by several different conditions. It may be felt as a bump or hard or soft lump anywhere on the gums. An infection, such as a bacterial infection or localized abscess, can appear as a mass on the gums. Gum or mouth cancer or tumors of the teeth or jaw are rarer causes of a mass on the gums.
Also, a cyst of the jaw is also a possible cause of a lump or mass on the gums. Traumatic injuries and canker sores are some of the more common causes of a mass on the gums. Sometimes, the hormonal changes of pregnancy can cause a small lump or bump to form near the gum line, called granuloma gravidarum.
What Causes Lump on Gums
Some of the more common reasons for lumps on the gums are canker sores, which happen to a great number of people, and those tend to go away on their own or with over the counter medications.
Traumatic injuries, including having a tooth extracted, can also lead to pain, tenderness and lumps. Occasionally the hormonal changes of pregnancy can lead to lumps in the mouth, and those tend to go away as soon as the woman delivers.
Gum lumps can be any size or any color, and it might have signs of infection, such as redness or pus. Some of these lumps are serious and some of them can be treated easily with home remedies or over the counter drugs. Here are the most common causes:
Irritation
A simple irritation of one particular area can lead to a lump on gums. This often happens if you have had something in your mouth pressing against one spot, or if you have a habit of moving your teeth in such a way that they scrape against the opposite gum. These irritations might lead to your immune system forming a lump to try to protect the area.
Canker Sores
These ulcers are quite common and can be caused by numerous things, such as spicy foods, infection, and even excessive body heat. They might be white and painful, pink or red, and often appear as a lump.
Gingivitis
This gum disease begins with inflammation, which can feel like lumps along the gums, then becomes worse without treatment. The bacteria is slowly eating away at the surrounding tissue.
Tooth Extraction
A lump on gums often appears after a tooth extraction. This could be a blood clot that forms there during healing, or simply because of irritation to the area, which will go away within a few days.
Dental problems
- Most common – tooth abscess
- Pus forms at the level of the gum, leading to the appearance of the lump
- Because of the infection, the gum suffers from an inflammation process (more prominent lump)
Dental treatments
- Most common – dental extraction
- Lump can be represented by the blood clot resulting from the haemorrhage, caused by the actual dental extraction
- The lump can also appear because the gum was irritated, as the result of the dental extraction
Poor Oral Hygiene
If you don’t brush and floss your teeth regularly, bacteria will build up and you will have higher risks of teeth cavity and gum disease.
Diet High in Sweet Food
If you eat a lot of sweets, chocolates, and starchy foods, such as white bread, crisps, biscuits, and pretzels, you’re more likely to develop a bacterial infection that will lead to tooth decay and abscess.
Weakened Immune System
Your immune system may not be functioning properly due to some underlying conditions, such as diabetes. Weakened immune system leads to higher possibility of infection.
Other causes
- Oral cancer
- Local trauma or injury
- Hormonal changes (pregnancy).
Hard Lump on Gum above Tooth
Occasionally the gums may bleed if you brush the teeth and gums very hard, make use of a hard-bristled toothbrush, or the snap dental floss hard against the gums. Be gentle with the teeth use a very soft-bristled toothbrush as well as floss very carefully to assist to prevent bump on gums.
Smoking as well as using of other tobacco related products increases the risk for gum disease which can be seen with a hard lump on gums. Smokers have a very higher chance of experiencing gum disease throughout their mouths than the non-smokers.
You may not experience the symptoms of bleeding or a lump on the gums due to the normal bleeding immune response that is affected by tobacco use.
Chewing of the tobacco or use of the snuff can push the gums back in the area of the mouth where the tobacco is normally inserted. Constant irritation brought about by the tobacco products increases the risk of oral cancer.
Reason for a Hard Lump on Gum that is Painful
The mouth is a mirror of health or disease, a sentinel or early warning system a potential source of pathology affecting other systems and organs less common, but very serious, are oral and pharyngeal. This section deals with only some of the more common tumours and growths that can occur in the mouth. Painful lumps in on the gums may be sores that have been infected.
It is important to seek professional help when you realize your gums have pain that is continuous without seizing. A painful lump on gum usually is an indication of a more serious problem in your mouth.
Cyst on Gum above Tooth
A cyst is a sac of tissue that has either fluid or soft material inside it. They can form in a wide range of tissues including in the face and mouth including gums. Some can form next to or around teeth, which are called dental cysts. Cysts are a reaction of the body to a condition and are usually relatively slow growing. They can be sterile or become infected.
Why dental cysts form
Dental cysts can form at the tip of the roots of dead teeth. They can also form around the crowns of buried teeth. Most cysts form because the teeth they are associated with have died from infection or trauma. Others form because of a mistake in the way the teeth have developed. Rarely, dental cysts are part of a genetic syndrome that has other symptoms. Your dentist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon will explain to you more about the cause of your cyst.
Any teeth can develop lump on gum from dental cysts. Mostly people will only have one at a time, but some people are more susceptible to developing them either because of the condition of their teeth or because they have an inherited condition that has dental cysts as part of its features.
Problems can dental cysts cause
Dental cysts can cause several problems but some remain undetected for months or even years. Many cause problems when:
- They become infected (causing pain and/or swelling);
- They slowly replace some bony tissue (they can weaken the jaws),
- They press against other teeth and structures;
- They prevent the normal function of the teeth and mouth tissues.
How to know if you have a dental cyst
- You might find out that you have a lump on gum from a dental cyst when it becomes infected.
- Your dentist might tell you that you have a dental cyst after looking at a dental or jaw X-ray: cysts can be seen as darker areas (‘holes’).
- Some people only find out they have a dental cyst when their jaw breaks after trauma (because the jaw is weakened by the cyst).
Bump on Gums not Painful Meaning
At times you may develop a lump on gums that has no pain. An abscess is a common dental problem. Such infections can come from a variety of sources, even though it is usually only on the gum that they appear. For example, an infection arising from a diseased tooth will appear on the gum that lies over that tooth. You may not know at some point that the lump exists, not unless you feel it accidentally with a tongue.
Common sources of dental abscesses are:
- Tooth decay. This is teeming full of bacteria. If this bacteria gets into the dental pulp, it can spread to cause infection inside and at the root of the tooth. This is known as a periapical abscess, and can travel out to the gum that lies over the root. Pulp deathcan also result from dental treatment on a diseased tooth.
- In severe gum disease, abscesses can form in the gaps that occur between the teeth and gums. These gaps around the teeth and under the gum-line are hard to clean, and are full of the microbes that cause the periodontitis which is seen as a lump on gum.
- Foreign objects,such as food debris lodging in the mouth, causing a gingival abscess
White Bumps on Gums no Pain
A lump or bump on your gums is a mild condition for us, noncancerous growths in our mouth can be caused by an irritation and they are relatively normal. In severe case that the bumps or lumps may indicate to be cancerous, the doctor will remove them by surgery.
There is a flat bone known as torus, which is a benign bony growth that is found on the tongue side of the lower jaw, or even on the hard palate. And these small white bump on gums probably got the name from their bulbous shape and the fact that they are usually made of strong, solid bone.
Tori are generally not a very big problem, except when the removable prosthesis like the partial dentures or even complete dentures must be fully fitted, or you have many growths that grow very large that they can touch or even irritate each other.
Oral cancers are usually always soft tissue lesions, in other words they are very soft, not very hard bumps. Cancer is rarely hard in presentation like the mandibular Tori. Cancer is not normally diagnosed feel alone, however, due to the fact that there is nothing particularly unique or the characteristic of the consistency or even the texture of cancer. The diagnostic parameters have too little or even no value in the diagnosis of cancer.
While mandibular tori is normally a painless lump, both the oral cancer and mandibular torus may create painful lumps in the mouth also.
How to Get Rid of Lump on Gum – Home Remedy
A lump on the gums might be very painful, annoying as well as frightening. Here are various ways to assist fight it.
Salt Water & Clove Oil
When a person is dealing with the pain of a bump on gums, salt water rinses may assist the pain disappear. Using clove oil on the spot may also bring a bit of relief. Over the counter medications, such as ibuprofen or even acetaminophen, may also make a big difference. Try using the mouthwashes with a very high alcohol content or a blend of a hydrogen peroxide and water to gargle remember not to swallow the concoctions.
Antibiotic
Antibiotics are usually prescribed for problems like this. The antibiotics may also often deliver relief within a period of about 24 to 48 hours, and once the swelling disappears, the dentist may want to get rid of the tooth or do other procedures so as to ensure the problem is gone.
Medical Options
If the problem is too serious, the dentist may perform minor surgery to assist you get over the issue. Scaling as well as root planning are the first options, and if that fails to work, a root canal may be in order. If that also fails to work, tooth extraction or periodontal surgery may be needed.
Cleaning Your Teeth and Roots
Keep the teeth too clean by brushing as well as flossing every day, and use of mouthwash with a good alcohol content to clean and freshen your mouth after each and every brush. This may also assist to avoid the formation of pockets that gets hold bacteria.
Regular Dental Visit
Keep up with very regular dental visits for the cleaning and the x-rays to identify lump on gums. This may assist to avoid the problems by spotting them before they begin.
When to See a Doctor
If you are much suffering from the pain while chewing, swelling of the jaw, or trouble opening the mouth, it’s time to see a dentist. Other problems that might send you to the dentist include a bad odor from the mouth that won’t go away with mouthwash use, occasional bleeding from your gums and fever or any other signs of infection.
Medical Treatments for Dental Abscess
When natural remedies don’t seem to work and your pain is becoming worse, you need to consider going for a medical treatment.
Root Canal Treatment
If the soft tissue on your abscessed tooth has swollen, your dentist may start by draining it first. Your tooth will be opened up and the nerve that is sending pain sensations to your brain will be removed. The infected pulp inside the canal will also be cleaned out.
Traction
Sometimes, your dentist cannot save your abscessed tooth through root canal treatment. They will have to extract it and prescribe some medicines.
Antibiotics
You don’t usually need antibiotics if your infection isn’t spreading to areas other than your abscessed tooth. It is also important to use antibiotics if your immune system isn’t functioning properly.
More references;
- Lump on gums: http://www.md-health.com/Lump-on-Gums.html
- Lump or mass on gums: http://www.medicinenet.com/lump_or_mass_on_gums/symptoms.htm
- Symptoms of lump on gums: http://mddk.com/lump-on-gums.html