Hi,

Over the past two weeks I've been aware of a hard, painless bump on the inside wall of my gums, just under my back right teeth (facing towards the inside of the mouth). Its quite small, and gradual (without apparent clear edges), perhaps 3-4 mm in diameter. I'm a grad student in a rural part of Canada at the moment and its not easy to have an appointment with an oral doctor... it might take up to a few months! In the mean time, I was wondering if this sounds like something I need to go to the hospital about right away. It's not getting any bigger, nor any smaller, and its as hard as the rest of my gums. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this.

Grat

Just adding to my potentially usefull additional comments (after reading through some of the other posts): there is no discoloration of the bump, and I only noticed it recently and have been worrying about it since, but it could have been there for a long time (I don't often poke around with my tounge down there). I smoked for about two years (off and on) in college, and drink on average a glass of wine every other day. In terms of potential trauma, I fell off a motorcycle last christmas and banged my jaw pretty badly right near there... (except why would this be on the inside wall?).

The best advice is professional opinions your own Dr or Dentist should be a starting point. Good luck.

Hello Grat

Most mouth cancers cause a problem: pain, difficulty with swallowing, talking, etc. Have a look at Examination Technique with Normal Findings and Structures Mistaken for Disease. You might also have explored the pterygoid hamulus or the hamular process of the pterygoid bone.

So, it could just be a normal structure that you have just noticed recently. Let us hope so. As Nigel says, it is prudent to go and see your dentist or doctor for an opinion. Let us know what they say.

Best wishes
Vinod

Did you ever find out what the bump was? I have the exact same problem! I feel like one day it was there and one day it wasn't. And it did make me question if I had just never noticed it....Please let me know if you found out anything. Thanks.