I hope you can help me. About a month ago I noticed a dark spot above where my wisdom tooth was removed 17 years ago. I immediately went to the dentist, scared to death it was cancer. He took xrays and examined me and said it was an amalgam tatoo and nothing to worry about. However, the stress of this experience caused me to severely bite my cheeks which of course left a whitened surface. This then scared me into thinking I had thrush and therefore AIDS. I finally got up the nerve this past week to go back to him to ease my mind. He has 30 years of experience and examined my mouth and said he saw nothing that was a problem in ANY way. I had been examining my mouth for over a month since my first visit and saw nothing unusual except the white areas I had bitten (before the biting they were perfectly normal, and all white areas were were along the bite line). Tonight I was finally beginning to convince myself that I was okay and trust my dentist's statement, but when my tongue brushed against the front of my lower gum on the left hand side I felt what appeared to be granules. When I looked in my mouth I saw little white spots in about a half an inch area. I wiped it with a tissue and they came off with some bleeding underneath. I had not seen them before and it would seem to be impossible for the dentist to have missed them. They were obvious. Before my visit to the dentist I was at the point of looking in my mouth MANY times a day with a flashlight and these would be impossible to miss. Is it possible for thrush to appear so rapidly, just 2 after my exam? I myself did not see anything yesterday. Could something else, like extreme stress cause this. I have been worried and terrified of this since my first visit to the dentist when he checked the wisdom tooth. It seems strange to me that my dentist would tell me he saw nothing just two days ago and now this has appeared. Could it be something else entirely. (I hope so!) I am working with a psychologist who was beginning to get my seemingly unfounded fears in check when now this has happened. In every other way I am healthy. No weight loss, normal appetite, temperature in normal range always, have lots of energy, no night sweats, no skin lesions. None of the other symptoms of HIV or AIDS. Nothing that would be considered high risk behavior in over 10 years. Have not had the flu or other illnesses in a VERY long time. About the only thing I get once in a while is a cold, but usually only one every couple of years. The last time I took antibotics was for a dental procedure over 6 months ago. I do drink a lot of soda that has sugar. I am looking for some glimmer of hope here. I am neither emotionally or mentally ready to take an HIV test at this time. It is late at night here and I am so scared and worried. I hope you can tell me something that might help easy my mind a little. I feel foolish and childish to be so worried and scared, but I am so terrified at this point. Thank you for any help and hope.