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Gum Diseases

My gums are white

01/23/2006

Question:

My gums are red and I have white on them(and bleeding a little)....it hurts really bad..could this be a reaction to my tongue piercing or something else(just got it pierced about 5 days ago)

Answer:

Depending on where your tongue was pierced and where it hurts, it may be directly related to trauma caused by tongue piercing. Clinical studies conducted at our school show that tongue piercing causes a severe type of periodontal tissue loss, especially on lower front teeth. If you are experiencing pain and cannot locate a single area in your mouth, it may be a general infection related to bacteria or yeast, etc.

In general, periodontal inflammation does not cause severe pain. Only specific types of infections such as necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis or periodontitis and sometimes candida-related infections cause severe pain on gums in addition to bleeding. Please visit a periodontist.

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Response by:

Binnaz Leblebicioglu, DDS, MS, PhD Binnaz Leblebicioglu, DDS, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Periodontology
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University