To be worried about a small painless lump on my gum?

[Emma1992x]

So to cut a long story short, shortly after giving birth I had a lot of issues with my teeth but due to covid it was really difficult to get an appointment, once I was seen I needed a root canal on my first back lower molar and have had a few infections in that tooth since which required antibiotics.

I had a fall and hit my face on the same side as my problem tooth and my face swelled up in the area I hit (which was subsequently in the same area as my problem tooth).

ice took the swelling down and a few days later I noticed a pea size lump on my gum, it was hard and painless - called the dentist, X-ray done and infection present.. given metronidazole to take away infection and this reduced the size of the lump but did not take it away.

I called the dentist again and explained the lump was still there so had another appointment.

the dentist then basically fobbed me off and asked what I wanted him to do about it, he said it’s likely the infection is still there and will never fully go away, he said the lump is likely a pocket where the infection stays and as long as it stays in one area and doesn’t spread it won’t really cause me any problems. (Although I’ve never had this kind of lump before - this one is solid and the other one kind of leaked - gross I know)

he advised to ignore the lump and keep hold of my tooth as long as it doesn’t cause any other problems, I asked if it was dangerous to leave it as is and he just said no and to not read up about lumps in the gum online etc as he is confident my lump will not go away and it’s been caused through the trauma of hitting my face, a bit of damage and the already present abscess…

honestly I don’t know what to do I feel like the advise is just a bit questionable - would it be silly to get a second opinion?? Has anyone experienced anything like this before?

DP had root treatment a few years ago, and the wee lump appeared now and again, without causing problems. However, he's just had to have the tooth removed because of risk of infection after his planned heart surgery.
In your position, I'd believe the dentist, as DP's dentist never seemed worried and had mentioned that the tooth may be lost eventually.

The lump is probably what we’d call a buccal sinus. A way for the body to drain away infection, the body is usually quite effective at managing it. But they can get blocked or cause abscesses out of the blue. But it does mean the root canal treatment (if you had one?) hasn’t technically worked. They’re only about 70% successful.

no NHS dentist wants to do root canal on a molar, they’re bloody hard to do well, take ages and you get paid naff all for them.

your options are probably leave it, get a private specialist (endodontist) root canal, or get the tooth pulled out. I’d choose one of the latter if you’ve already had multiple rounds of antibiotics for it…

I've had infections on a gum where I've needed root canal treatment, it's horrible but the lump also for me took ages to go. The infection came back a few times, a blast with metronidazole and amoxicillin eventually took it away ... but again lump remained for months. A friend had a similar issue too - good luck and if you feel that spongy feeling in your gum/tooth just go straight away again

Thanks for your reply, I did have a root canal and the dentist did explain it had failed which is unfortunate but recommended leaving the tooth for now as in his opinion it will be fine with regular check ups to ensure no changes with that tooth etc so maybe I’ll just hold out and see how it goes… he said to only have it seen if it causes any pain or it’s difficult to eat with so I’ll just keep an eye on it

Maybe I’m just overthinking it… some of the things you read online can give you nightmares 😢

Buccal sinus

You’ll probably be fine!
Any proper swelling or pain on biting give your dentist a call. But yeah I’d say leave it in place unless it causes trouble, unless you fancy paying loads for a specialist, and even then it might not work!

I have a similar lump in my gum. An infection caused a cyst to form which has left a hard capsule under the surface of the gum. I have had it 40+ years with no further problems and nothing sinister like cancer.

Sounds like a buccal sinus. Aka a gum boil Infection/ pus collecting in a little bubble and periodically bursting
rinse with hot salty water to keep it clean

realistically your options are
re root treat it
extract it
leave it
if it’s not painful / throbbing it’s probably ok to wait and ask the dentist about at your next check up