Hi,

A few months ago i noticed a lump/swelling on my lower right gum near where my wisdom tooth should be. After inspecting it i found that the tip of my wisdom tooth has broken through and the surrounding gum was swollen but there was no pain or discomfort. I also noticed a slightly larger swelling/lump just next to where the tip of the tooth is. Its painless and is about 1-1.5cm in size.

I put it down to just being my wisdom tooth coming through and quickly forgot about it. However, 2-3 months down the line, the wisdom tooth hasnt came through any further and the swelling/lump is still there although not any bigger and still no pain.

Im not currently registered with a dentist but i went to re-register and have been told its another 2 months to wait. Should i go private to be seen quicker or see a doctor?

Im 25 years old and was a light smoker for 2 years but have stopped for 4 months.

Thanks,
Steven

Hi Steven

Congrats and continued good luck on stopping smoking!

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the requirements of the NHS (I wish we had something like it here in the US), but the quicker you can be seen, the better the outcome. It could be an impacted wisdom tooth, but better safe than sorry. If it's possible, go to the doctor and see if you can get a referral to a dentist.

Let us know how things turn out.

Good evening Steven,
See your doctor, he will be able to get you refered to the dental clinic at the hospital. The important thing is to get the problem sorted out soon.
Ten out of ten for quitting smoking,don't ever be tempted to try even just one puff; it could undo the effort you have put in up to now.
Julia and I are both avid non smokers, I don't know if she ever smoked but I did, 40 per day and nearer twice that when I was travelling long distance. One day as I was leaving the doctor's surgery he said "by the way John if you don't give up smoking I don't want to see you again" I think Hippocrates may have taken a dim of view of this but it certainly worked for me, I gave up.The next time I saw the doctor, again as i was leaving he asked about the smoking and when I told him I quit after my last visit he was agreeably surprised and asked if it was difficult I said no (a downright lie) but I would appreciate a little help with another problem,I managed to quit smoking by taking heroin and cocain (another lie I am happy to say)and I would now like to stop these habits. I am not sure what the actual words were but they were an invitation to leave in a hurry before I came to some harm.That was nearly thirty years ago.In todays money terms that amounts to about £100,000.
Please let us know how you get on.
Keep Smiling
John

Hi John

I'm a vehement non-smoker as well as a militant pacifist. I grew up in a smoking household (mom smoked until I was 30) and have tried it, but found it to be disgusting.

I told my doctor something similar at a clinic visit. He asked me if I'm still smoking and drinking. I told him "you have to do something when you give up smack." He appreciated the joke.

Hi John,

First off, thanks to both yourself and Julia for your welcome advice. Ive decided two months is too long to wait and will go see my doctor, if anything just to put my mind at ease. Ill definately let you know how i get on.

I think still a long way to go before i can say ive definately kicked the habit of smoking. So far so good though as ive not even had a puff since i quit but i still get the cravings now and again so still a bit of work to do in that sense.

Congrats on kicking the 40 a day habit....i was only roughly about 10-15 a day and that was hard enough!! I actually did it for my girlfriends sake as much as mine, as she has really bad asthma and the smoke started affecting her as much as it did me. Im glad i have managed it, so far, as its not really worth it for the sake of your health.

Steven

Hi Steven

I don't know if your doctor has a limit of one problem per patient per visit, but you might also want to ask about nicotine patches or Chantix or some other aid to curb the cravings while your body gets used to not smoking. Remember: it took your system a while to build up a tolerance for/addiction to nicotine, so it's only natural that it'll take a while for that effect to go away--if it ever does. Heck, my mom hasn't smoked in 14 years, but she says she still gets the occasional urge.

Good luck!

Julia