On Monday I had this sore on my gums. It is located on my gums right under my last maular on the bottom left side of my mouth. I never looked at it the day I got it. But on Wednesday I checked it out. And it basically looked like a really long (about as long as 1 and a half maulars) canker sore, but it had a black line right down the middle of it. The next day it was half split open, and now it is a completely split open gash in my gums. I can barely eat, every time I open and close my mouth it stings. I can't lay my head down on the left side. Now it is not as inflamed as it was yesterday, but it is still equally as painful. If I put pressure on my left cheek I can definitely feel the soreness. What the hell is this thing? Is it really a split open canker sore? Or something worse? I do smoke cigarettes. 2-8 a day. I do not drink. I don't drink excessive amounts of acidic juice. Nothing really abnormal about my lifestyle. Any ideas?
I am on Monday. My dentist doesn't work weekends, unfortunately. Just lookin' to see if anyone had experienced/heard of this before. Took me about 45 minutes to eat 2 mini hamburgers. . I'm STARVING.
Try rinsing your mouth with peroxide, It may burn a lil', but will help. It's helped me with mouth/dental pain over a weekend when med help is unavailable
It sounds like you may have an abscess which is draining, did that tooth hurt or was it sensitive before this thing appeared? You may wish to goggle "gingival abscess" and see if anything looks familar. I'm glad you are going to the dentist, these things can cause serious complications if left untreated.
This. If it's draining puss than it's more likely than not an abscess. Before it ruptured, could you feel throbbing/swelling from the wound? Like a too much water in a water balloon feeling from the area? When you do try to eat, make an attempt to not consume any of the fluid leaving the wound. I know, easier said than done but you don't want any part of what is coming out of there.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2337/1799960643_4196783306_m.jpg Mine is under the exact same tooth as that one.. but it doesn't touch the tooth, it is much lower on the gum line. (Imagine that picture is of the outside left maular) It pretty much looks just like an open cut, like someone made a short but wide incision in my gums. If it isn't significantly better by Monday. Then I will be paying my dentist a visit. MonkyBiz - I don't really remember, man. The thing started on Monday and ruptured Wednesday. I think I remember on Monday/Tuesday it felt like a very too intense canker sore. Like.. "Woah this feels worse then a canker sore" type of deal.
(looks at pic) Ow! If it appears to be better but you have jaw or facial pain, any neck or facial swelling or start running a fever, please see the dentist anyway. The scary problem with oral infections is, well, your brain is right there...
You should see a dentist/doctor. In the meantime -- you should shwish some listerine or whiskey around your mouth. It'll hurt like a motha, but it will kill bacteria. For the first time ever, I will say that maybe you should not loadanotherbowl (make brownies). Good luck with that man.
Abscesses will seek the easiest way possible to drain, and that's usually through the gum like that. Since you already have an appointment, I'd make sure to rinse every couple hours and after eating with warm salt water. Don't force the water around, just let it sit in there for a little bit. Biotene's oral debriding mouth wash works wonders for sores, too. Warm compresses may help, too. If it's an ulcer, ask if they can laser it. I get oral ulcers, and my dentist has used the laser normally used for cleaning up gingivitis. They form a scab within a couple hours and heal within a two days - much faster than the usual seven. You can also ask for magic mouthwash. Yes - they actually call it that. It's usually 1 part liquid benadryl, 1 part Maalox, 1 part lidocaine gel.
That stuff is awesome. Definitely take the mouthwash if you have the choice between that or just lidocaine gel. Trust me on this - lidocaine gel by itself has a really nasty texture. I'll leave it at that. Oh - they can also give you benzocaine gel. That's what they use to numb you before shots. In my experience it does work better for numbing smaller areas. Just dab it on a q tip, tuck the q tip in your cheek by the sore, and leave it there for a few minutes. That way your whole throat isn't numb. My dentist ordered a small tub for me and it was $5 or so.
I actually second the Biotene mouthwash. I wasn't sure if it would work as well in a situation like this, but now that I think about it more -- I don't see why it wouldn't. Also, blades, everybody should use Biotene. It does not burn like alcohol-based mouthwashes so you can actually use it the full minute. Also, it is better than alcohol-based ones like listerene, because it does not denature the enzymes in your mouth. After getting this mouthwash, you should loadanotherbowl.
Lol, I see what you did there. Well, the gash/cut closed while I slept last night. Or semi closed, little more then halfway closed. I didn't want to fuck that up so I've only eaten ramen noodles, soft meatloaf and mashed potatoes. And drank through a straw. Been up for 6 hours and its still closed and feels a ton better. I think if I manage to keep it closed I will be fine. I'm still starving though, lol.
Make sure you still get that thing checked, just in case. I was in for a root canal last week, and actually saw a teenager with an abscess draining out of her face. Not just her gum - her freaking face.
The microbiology of the acute dental abscess -- Robertson and Smith 58 (2): 155 -- Journal of Medical Microbiology