Red Spot On Gum. Not Raised Or Painful. Any Ideas?

Posted on Mon, 5 Aug 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 5 Aug 2013 Answered on

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Yesterday, I noticed a small, red spot on my gum. It is approx. 1 mm in diameter and very dark red compared to the rest of my gum tissue. It is not raised/not a bump, and it's not painful. It is over tooth #7 if I'm reading the tooth charts correctly... Can you please give me some ideas as to what this might be?

I am a 37 year old female who is in good health.

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Neha Sumra (-5 hours later)

Hi

Thanks for writing in.

The associated tooth is 22 & it could be a sinus from an abscess above a tooth. The symptoms would be a low constant throbbing pain that is well defined in its position (well localized) that lasts for a few hours at a time. The tooth affected would be a little tender when tapped or bitten on (as this would compress the abscess) and is likely to have a large existing filling (especially white fillings) or root canal treatment. This would not however be associated with bleeding gums, but then most people have some bleeding at times, usually due to imperfect cleaning.

Alternatively it could be a epulis, that are most likely when pregnant or when you are starting your periods, when your hormones are in a flux.

Consult a dentist for proper examination & better diagnosis.

Hope I answered your query

Take Care
Regards
Dr.Neha Sumra

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Mohammed Kappan