Gum trauma causes painful white blister?

January 2, 2007 10:58 PM

About 6 days ago I was brushing my teeth and I jammed the plastic edge of my toothbrush hard against my lower right-hand outside gum. There wasn't any blood, but in the days since, some sort of white blister has developed and is sensitive to the touch. It looks like a short (inch-long) line along my gum where the toothbrush hit. Any ideas how long this will take to go away, and if there's anything I can do to speed that up? Thanks!
posted by shivohum to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

I do myself that kind of damage about once a month. Probably takes about a week to run its course. I've used something called AmoSan, which is a peroxide based oral wound cleaner, that seems to help a little.
posted by Good Brain at 11:10 PM on January 2, 2007

I swear by SM-33.
posted by krisjohn at 11:20 PM on January 2, 2007

I've found the cheapest and yet most effective solution to canker sores is to 1) buy some hydrogen peroxide and q-tips at the drugstore, 2)take a q-tip and dip it in H2O2 solution, and 3) touch the H2O2 soaked end directly to the canker sore.

It will hurt like hell. However, the sore will close much faster than if you let it run its course.
posted by UrineSoakedRube at 11:27 PM on January 2, 2007

If it's a canker sore, then dipping a (slightly dampened) q-tip in some baking soda and touching that directly on the white part of the sore will help it heal faster. (Although it will immediately hurt just like UrineSoakedRube says hydrogen peroxide does, and it'll cause your mouth to water.) This works because there's a ph imbalance in the sore.

If it's more of a bruise or scrape or cut, a twice-daily wash with a warm saltwater solution will help it heal faster. Basically, you can follow the instructions for healing after wisdom tooth removal: one teaspoon of table salt to a glass of water. It's a different treatment than for a canker sore because it's just a wound, not a ph imbalance.

IANAD, just clumsy and prone to canker sores.
posted by nadise at 2:51 AM on January 3, 2007

Amosan was recommended to me when I abraded my gum with the sharp edge of a tortilla chip and was in pain for more than a week. It worked wonderfully and has worked well on another injury I've had since. (My mouth is a mess. Be kind to your gums, kids!)
posted by Dreama at 3:51 AM on January 3, 2007

I use Kankaid for quick pain relief and I apply regular table salt directly to the sore to reduce healing time. Though a turpentine gargle might hurt less :)

Just kidding. Don't try the turpentine gargle. Hate to have to add that, but you never know on those internet tubes.
posted by slavlin at 6:58 AM on January 3, 2007

So I'm not a doctor or anything, but I've had this exact injury more times than seems possible. Because it's been at least 5 days the ongoing sore may be the result of an autoimmune response caused something like herpes simplex (Maybe, or maybe not. Once again I am not a doctor nor do I have any actual medical knowledge). In my experience, the fastest way to heal the sore is to squirt one puff of medication from a steroid inhaler directly on the sore. I hold my lip open for about a minute for the medication to soak in and then rinse to get rid of any steroid residue. I've never used the treatment for more than one day because it has usually healed in that time. My theory behind it is the small amount of steroid suppresses the local immune response long enough to let the super fast healing powers of the mouth go to work.

Oh, and I bought a Sonicare, and this doesn't happen anymore.
posted by defreckled at 8:23 AM on January 3, 2007

dab on some salt and wait it out.
posted by twistofrhyme at 4:13 PM on January 3, 2007