Swollen gums

[Wai019]

Hi, I a whitish looking patch behind my last molar on my left side. it is swollen and I can feel the tension when I bite down from my teeth on top. My wisdom tooth is the one in front of the white patch. My wisdom tooth is pulled to the front from my braces after losing a tooth from a previous accident. Thank you for your help.

Btw I just went to the dentist for a clean literally two days ago and dentist said my teeth are fine. Swollen gums started today.

http://tinypic.com/r/29p5auh/8

[Wai019]

I went to the dentist and they told me it was a molar growing in. You were right! Thank you for your help :)

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Maybe more of a callous or what we call a frictional keratosis.  Still, it may not be a bad idea to get it checked out by your dentist since you're concerned about it.

[Wai019]

It stayed the same.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Probably not.  But its hard to just judge by photo alone.  Has it gotten better or worse in any way?  An infection would probably worsen as time goes on

[Wai019]

Do you think that this looks like some kind of infection?

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

That's also a possibility too although wisdom teeth generally start coming out at age 18-25.  So maybe its early

[Wai019]

I dont' know if this can be true but I feel like my wisdom teeth on top is starting to grow more and it's pressing against that area. The white spot in the previous picture is where I feel my top tooth the most.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

So you had two molars removed from that area?  Its rare but sometime people will have another molar in that area.  Usually its only 3 and if I count right, two removed and one remaining.  Not sure what's going on there.  Was there any traumatic injury there?  Sometime your gums, like your skin, will get calloused or thickened in response to injury

[Wai019]

http://tinypic.com/r/9qk601/8

Here is an updated picture of what I have now. thank you for your reply.

[Wai019]

I had a one molar taken out before so I can have room for my braces and another for the abscess so you are saying that this should be my last molar and my wisdom tooth should be growing there? What explains the cracked white looking patch towards the back of my mouth?

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

I think you should consult with your dentist.  My guess is that your wisdom tooth actually hasn't come out yet and that the tooth you are referring you is your second molar.  You have 3 molars usually and the first molar is probably the one you lost.  The first molar comes out at age 6, the second molar comes out at age 12 and the last one comes out at age 18-25.  It may be coming out earlier since you lost your first molar and your second molar was moved forward, creating more room and accelerating the wisdom tooth coming out, which is that bump you are feeling

[Wai019]

As for the  top teeth, as I forgot to mention, nothing really happened

[Wai019]

I am 16, I had a root canal when I was 10 but an abscess grew there when I was 14. They had to take out that tooth and was gonna place dental implants in but my othro sugggested that I pull up my wisdom teeth from the back to close the space from where the teeth was removed. thanks for your reply!

[Wai019]

I don't know if this is important but my top tooth keeps pressing against the swollen area.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

How old are you?  

What's the history on the top and bottom teeth in that area?