Hi guys,

Edit: photo at foot of post.

I've lurked around looking for some info to stop me posting a fresh topic and annoying you guys, but can't quite find the exact answers. First off, I'm not a smoker although I did visit my Grandparents a lot as a child and they did quite heavily. I don't drink apart from special occasions and even then it's a couple of pints at most.

Basically, in December 2010 I had Swine Flu and during this flu I noticed a small bump on the roof of my mouth, in line with the last tooth before your molars begin. It's off centre, closer to the teeth but on the palate. Initially it was softish, I could push it away (not burst it) and felt more I was pushing it up and into the roof of my mouth as opposed to flattening or emptying it. It's texture is hard to describe, it's not soft like a blister, but not hard like bone ... kind of in-between.

I put it down to the flu, a blocked saliva gland and forgot all about it. Cut to the winter (October) just gone, and I discover it with my tongue and notice it's still there, go online for a check and find all the horror stories you do on Google.

I went to my Doctors and he said to go to an oral surgeon just to be safe. I had private health care, so didn't wait for the NHS appointment and was seen at Ross Hall hospital in Glasgow the next day. The oral surgeon looked around, with this giant magnifying and light combo on his head, and said that the tooth directly adjacent was needing attention (it subsequently broke in the days which followed, proving it was indeed rotten) and that the bump was an infection from the tooth. He said to get the tooth treated, and it would go away. I asked if it looked like cancer, he said no.

Sadly, I did not have dental cover and the tooth was still needing attention, but there is now a second bump, larger, just millimetres in front of the original bump. It's tougher than the original bump, but I can push it away (or up into the mouth as I feel it is). When I push it away, the area is sore and tender and becomes inflamed (obviously as I'm prodding around).

So, cut to last week. I finally found an NHS dentist and signed up for dental cover. I asked the dentist about the bumps, and he looked and rubbed his finger over and said they were "palatal ridges" and nothing to worry about. He said it could be from the infected tooth, but seemed more insistent on the palatal ridges.

Cool, I thought, maybe it's a change as I get older (I'm 33 on my next birthday). I decided that night that if they're normal, I must have them on the other side! So I go prodding and poking around and pushing into the same are as the other side. Oh, I find one. So I poke around some more like an idiot and now, for the past week, I now have an inflamed, identical feeling lump on the right side, as I've had on the left for a year!

My dentist rubbed the area (left side of the mouth, the original and now dual bumps) with the fleshy part of the tip of his finger, but it's more prominent when you rub the tip of your nail over them.

I know I must sound like a complete hypochondriac, given that an oral surgeon and dentist have told me not to worry. The swellings don't seem to go down and feel like they're under the skin (well they are, since I used my iPhone to film the roof of my mouth with the flash turned on and had a look). The bump on the right side, which I caused last week, is still raised. I can push them down (up into the roof of my mouth) and they come back rather more pronounced and swollen.

I have the dentist again next Friday for more treatment, and may ask him to feel using his nail as opposed to the tip of his finger, but despite reassurances it's nothing I still worry but get the feeling my dentist is fed up of me asking him to feel my bumps!

Thanks for reading folks.

JimBob.

They're quite red as I've been poking around tonight. You can see the broken tooth to the right of the photo (which is the left of my mouth) which is being sorted a week on Friday. I'd have thought the bumps were due to infection from this tooth had I not annoyed a similar "gland" and caused the adjacent bump on the other side last week!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JimBob,

Hello JimBob

All I see are lateral palatal ridges (rugae) and some reddish pink spots about the midline in the roof of the mouth (palate) that appear to be related to inflammation of minor salivary glands there. No cancer. If you develop any ulcer/swelling, ask your dentist to have another look. Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes
Vinod