Gumboil

Definition- What is a bump on the gums?

A bump on the gums may have developed unnoticed over a longer period of time and may be noticed by the patient only late or may occur acutely after an injury or previous dental treatment. Inflammatory processes can also cause the gums to swell and bumps or nodules can form on the gums. A distinction is made between dents filled with fluid (e.g. pus) and unfilled hard or soft dents on the gums.

Causes

Often an inflammation is responsible for a bump on the gums. Especially after a root canal treatment or apicoectomy. In root canal treatment, the inflamed tooth nerve is removed and the nerve canals are cleaned and then filled with root filling material.

It is not uncommon for bacteria to remain at the root tips and infect the surrounding bone and the periodontal membrane. The infection then cannot escape for the time being and the gums swell in this area, forming a pus-filled lump. This bump can cause severe pressure pain.

Even after an apicoectomy, in which the inflamed root tips are removed in a minor surgical procedure, bacteria already present in the surrounding bone can cause an inflammation with a subsequent boil. A further cause of a bump on the gums is an external injury, for example due to excessive and pressure-intensive tooth brushing. Epulids are also inflammatory bumps on the gums caused by mechanical stimuli.

They can be soft and red or pale red and feel hard. They are also caused by wearing dentures and can cause pain at the same time, or simply develop unnoticed on the gums. Only when they become larger do they become annoying to the patient.

Especially during pregnancy, such epulids can occur due to a change in the hormonal balance. Gum pockets and purely periodontal diseases can also cause inflammation and this can lead to a bulge on the gums. A bump on the gums in the upper jaw can initially be completely painless and unnoticed.

The roots of the teeth in the upper jaw border on the maxillary sinuses. If an inflamed tooth is the trigger, the pus usually escapes first into the nearby maxillary sinus. There is a cavity there which is filled with pus.

Only when the pus has to escape there again and the inflammation continues to spread, does the typical strong pressure pain occur, which can then pull up to the eye. Usually a bump forms on the gums in the immediate vicinity of the affected tooth during this time. An inflamed maxillary sinus without a diseased tooth can also cause a swelling or bump on the upper jaw.

In most cases, however, there is a rather extensive swelling, which could also be visible from the outside. This topic might also be of interest to you:

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Especially in the lower jaw, wearing a denture can cause a bump on the gums. Dentures in the lower jaw usually have a much worse hold and fit than in the upper jaw and often slip over the jaw ridge.

This causes unnatural irritation and pressure points for the gums. This mechanical strain then leads to an epulis, a tissue swelling on the gums. An epulis can look roundish or mushroom-shaped.

In addition, a distinction is made between an inflammatory form, which usually appears red and soft, and a non-inflammatory form, which usually appears light pink and hard. Both should be examined by a dentist in any case to exclude other diseases of the jaw. Inflamed gum pockets are more common in the lower jaw, and these can also become noticeable by a bump. Especially wisdom teeth in the lower jaw, which are in the breakthrough, cause such inflammations. Inflamed gum pockets and the resulting boils are called periodontal pocket abscesses.