Bumps in mouth are harmless and will in most cases clear without treatment. These bumps are common can appear on any part of the mouth. They can appear on cheek, under tongue, or on gum. The symptoms and characteristic of these bumps will also vary depending on what the underlying cause of the bump is.
Oral bumps can be hard, large, small, painful or painless. The color of the bumps will also vary from red to white and in some case, they may be filled with blood, pus or a clear fluid. Here is an insight on the causes, symptoms and how to get rid or remove these bumps.
Bump in mouth after eating
Injuries and burns after eating are one of the most common causes of bump in mouth. In children especially, a bump, lumps, and spots on inside cheek, lips and on tongue can be as result of drinking or eat hot, or spicy foods and beverages.
The inside of mouth is lined with a thick layer of mucus. Hot and spicy food can irritate this lining leading to formation of white or red patches. This can also happen when you eat spicy or acidic fruits.
To prevent this from happening, you need to makes sure the temperature of the food you are taking is right. You can also avoid too spicy food and overly acidic fruits like pineapple, raw oranges and lemon. See you, doctor, if you always develop mouth bumps after eating.
Bump in mouth on gum
Bump on gum is most likely to be a parulis also known as gum boil or a tooth abscess. These bumps are often caused by the body response to toxins that drain out of the root with a dead nerve.
In humans, any dead tissues are poisonous. The body reacts to toxic material seeping out of roots by seeding white blood cells to clear the infection. These white blood cells will die off and accumulate as pus at the tip of the root. This is what leads to the formation of draining abscesses on gum.
Gum boils and abscess will in most cases clear without treatment. The bump will break through the born and drain out the pus into the mouth. The point at which the pus escapes forms a small blister. The blister is what is known as Parulis and can be seen as a painful bump on gum.
Bump in mouth on cheek
As said bumps can occur on any part of the mouth. Bumps on bump on inner cheeks are most likely to be sign or symptom of one of the following conditions. Some of the conditions below are harmless and can clear on their own with no treatment. Others can be harmful and life threatening as such, urgent treatment is required.
Mouth bump on cheek can be:
1. Canker sores
These according to mayo clinic are small shallow lesions that develop on the soft tissues of the mouth. These bumps are also common on the base of gums. These bumps are often confused for cold sore, but unlike cold sore, they are not contagious and they do not occur on the surface of lips.
These sores will often clear on their own within a week or two. Check up with your health care provider if they fail to do so.
2. Oral thrush
Oral thrush or oral candidiasis is the other possible cause of bump in mouth. Oral thrush is a common fungal infection of the mouth lining. The condition is known to cause white lesions usually on tongue and on inner cheek, gum and back of the throat.
Though common in babies, this fungal infection can affect anyone. It is however common in people with weak or compromised immune system. It is, however, minor for those who are healthy. It can easily be controlled. For those with compromised immune system, urgent treatment may be required.
3. Oral lichen planus
Lichen planus is an inflammatory skin condition common in older people. The condition can also affect children and young adults.
Oral lichen planus may appear as white, lacy patches, red swollen tissues. The condition can also appear as painful open sores inside mouth. It such cases, the sores can cause pain, burning, pain, and lots of discomforts.
It is not contagious as such it cannot be passed from one person to the other. Those with compromised immune system needs close monitoring of the condition as they risk developing =oral cancer.
4. Milia
Milia are small cyst often white in color. They are common on cheek and nose but can also be seen on gums and inside mouth especially in newborns. According to Mayo clinic, milia bumps will often occur in groups. On cheeks, these bumps are formed when keratin becomes trapped underneath the skin.
Milia can occur in people of all ages. In infants, no treatment is required as the cyst will often clear up within a week or two. If they cause discomfort, there are some treatment options that your doctor might prescribe to get rid of the bumps.
Bump in mouth inside lip
Though common in children, bump on lips just like those on gums and on inside cheek can occur to anyone. Bumps on lips can be painful or painless depending on what is causing them. Though most will clear without treatment, proper medical attention is required to prevent contagious bumps from spreading to other parts.
Lump, cyst, and bumps inside lips can be red or white in color. In most cases, this bumps are filled with a clear fluid or pus. They can be annoying and cause difficulties when talking or eating. Most are itchy, irritating and painful. These bumps are likely to be caused by:
1. Cold sores
Cold sore are inflamed painful blisters that occur in or around lips. These bumps are caused by herpes simplex infection.
They are very contagious and can be passed from one person to the other through close physical contact like kissing and sharing eating and drinking glass with an infected person. They appear in clusters and can be very painful.
In most cases, no treatment is required as the bumps will often clear on their own within a few days. See you, doctor, if that fails to happen.
2. Oral Cancer
Mouth or oral cancer can also be the underlying cause of the bump on lips, tongue, and gum. Cancer is a life-threatening condition that calls for urgent and proper medical care. As a patient, you stand high chances of effetely treating oral cancer is it is diagnosed and treated early.
Treatment for oral cancer will depend on the type and the stage the cancer is in. treatment will include surgery, chemo and radiation therapy. Oral cancer can affect the roof, floor of mouth, inner cheek, gums, tongue, and lips.
3. Fordyce spots
Fordyce spots are yellow or white spots that occur on the edge of lips and inside mouth. These bumps are normal, painless and harmless and will in most cases clear on their own with or without treatment.
Apart from around the lips, these spots can also be seen around the genital. They are neither itchy nor infectious. According to medical researchers, these bumps are a normal part of the human anatomy. They are present at birth and only visible until puberty.
These spots are benign. They are not caused by a disease and as such, no medical treatment is required to get rid of them. If you, however, wish to get rid of them, your doctor will most likely prescribe a micro punch surgery, laser treatment or topical treatment to get rid of the bumps.
4. Bacterial infection
Bacterial and viral infection are also possible causes of bump in mouth. These can be prevented by maintaining high standards of oral hygiene. You can do these by brushing your mouth after meals. Make sure to use mild mouthwash or toothpaste and a toothbrush with soft bristles. When brushing use moderate force to avoid damaging you mouth inner mucus lining.
Hard lump in mouth, lower jaw
Hard lumps in mouth that occur on jaws are most likely to be a sign of:
- A mucous cyst which is thin, fluid filled sac on the inside of your mouth. They are often harmless and painless.
- Leukoplakia, this is a mucous membrane disorder marked with white patches on cheek, vulva and on the penis. Oral leukoplakia is caused by chronic irritation of the mucous membrane of the mouth.
- Torus palatines are bony hard protrusion on the palate and jaws. Most are less than 2cm in diameters but keep changing throughout life.
Bump in mouth under tongue
Your tongue is made up of different parts that perform different functions. It is not uncommon to develop bump on the tip, sides, surface, back and under the tongue.
Circumvallate papillae are bumps that often develop on the back of the tongue. Transient lingual papillitis, on the other hand, are common on the surface of the tongue and often appear due to local trauma or as a result of allergic or contact reaction to certain types of food.
On the tip of the tongue, one may develop fibroma bumps. Like transient papillitis, these bumps are benign growth caused by local injuries like biting the tip of the tongue.
Bumps in mouth under the tongue are most likely to be lingual tonsils. This are often red in color. These bumps are often swollen during a viral or bacterial infection inside mouth. Lingual tonsils are two small mounds of lymphatic tissue located at the back of the base of the tongue.
These bumps under the tongue are composed of lymphatic tissue that functions to assist the immune system in the production of antibodies in response to foreign antibodies, bacterial and viral infection. Like other lymphatic tissues, they function is to prevent infection. They can become swollen and painful in the course of performing this function.
No treatment is required to get rid of this bumps. Most will clear and regain their shape once the infection is cleared. If that fails to happen, have you health care provider examine them as soon as possible. This could be a sign of a serious underlying oral infection such as oral cancer.
White, clear bump in mouth STD
White or clear bump in mouth can also be as sign of a sexually transmitted disease. Syphilis is an STD that can have very serious complication when proper medical attention is not taken.
Syphilis mouth bumps can easily be spread from one person to the other when one comes in contact with syphilis sore during oral sex or other forms of contact. These bumps can most likely be seen around the penis, vagina lips or mouth. The bumps can also spread to unborn baby from the mother.
Most case of STD bumps can be cured at their eely stages. For other like those caused by HIV/AIDS no cure is available yet but treatment works to manage the symptoms and prevent their spread to those who are not infected. Proper medical care is required in cases where the underlying cause of the bumps is an STD.
How to get rid of Bump in Mouth
How do you get rid of bump in mouth? White or red bumps on lips and mouth can be painful and annoying. These bumps are however common require no treatment. Though most can be managed at home with simple home care methods, urgent treatment is required if you notice the following symptoms:
- The bumps become painful and irritating
- The hard bump start to bleed
- You neck, jaws or tongue start to swell
- Tingling and numbness of tongue
- Sore throat
- The bumps fail to go away
When treating to get rid of white, red, hard, large or small bump in mouth, the treatment option prescribed by your dentist or health care provider. Some causes of these bumps like Fordyce spots are harmless and as such requires no treatment. The bumps often clear up on their own within a week or so.
If however the bumps becomes unbearable, your doctor may prescribe some procedures to get rid of the bumps.
- For oral thrush and large Fordyce spots in mouth your doctor can prescribe electro surgery or laser treatment to get rid of them
- For oral thrush and other bacterial infection bump in mouth, anti-fungal and antibacterial medication may be used.
- For STD bumps, such as oral herpes your health care provider may prescribe antiviral medication to temporally eliminate your bumps.
- Treatment for cancerous bumps in mouth will vary depending on the type and stage of the cancer. In most cases, treatment will include surgical removal of the bumps, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to try and prevent the spread of the cancer to other parts.
You can also try the following to get rid of minor bumps at home:
- Maintain proper oral hygiene. Make sure to brush your mouth with a mild mouthwash and a toothbrush with soft bristles. Also use moderate force to avoid hurting your gums, lips and the mucous membrane lining the inside of your mouth.
- White spots and patches can be prevented but drinking plenty of water and fluid. Keeping your mouth wet and your body hydrated may also help prevent symptoms such as itching, irritation and swelling that might be caused by the bumps inside your mouth.
- You will also need to gargle with salty water or moderate amounts of hydrogen peroxide to keep your mouth fresh and free form bacterial and fungal infection.
- Schedule regular appointments with your dentist. That way it is very easy to monitor and treat oral infections at their early stages.
References:
- http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/ss/slideshow-mouth-problems
- http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/bump-in-mouth/
- http://www.healthline.com/health/white-bumps-on-lips?isLazyLoad=false#causes2