Why am I having white spots on my gums?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have a small white dot on my gums. It looks like a whitehead. I noticed it a couple of days ago. It is painless. It is just above my left canine. I do not know what it is. It is towards the top of the gum. I have attached the photo. Can you suggest what it could be? I am scared of the dentist, so any option to avoid that would be nice.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It looks like a minor aphthous ulcer (attachment removed to protect the patient's identity), which gives no pain and subsides by itself. Please check if there is any pus discharge, pain in the tooth, or any other area of the mouth that also has this kind of spot. Aphthous ulcer often causes minimal symptoms or problems. Oral ulcers are small, round or oval ulcers of two to four millimeters in diameter. They are round or ovoid in most situations, but are often more linear in common sites. They have an ulcer floor that is initially yellowish-white and surrounded by an erythematous halo or redness. They are found mainly on the mobile mucosa of the lips, cheeks, the floor of the mouth, sulci, or below the tongue.

Yours is in between the junction of the gums and the sulcus of the cheek, so it is a soft mucosa that looks like it. They occur in groups of only a few ulcers, that is, one to six at a time. In your case, you have only one. They heal in seven to ten days, and they may recur at intervals of one to four months. They leave little or no evidence of scarring. If it pains, then you can apply a pain-relieving gel. If it does not subside in a week or 10 days, then visit your dentist.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.