Treatment for Lumps & Bumps in the Mouth
Swelling and lumps in the mouth are common, and the tongue often detects even very small swellings or patients may notice a lump because it is sore.
Many oral cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages because the patient ignores the swelling as they might be painless.
What conditions can cause to lumps and bumps in the mouth?
- Normal anatomical features: Parotid papilla, foliate papillae on the tongue, or the pterygoid hamulus
- Developmental lumps: Tori, cysts hamartomas such as lymphangiomas and hemangiomas
- Inflammatory infectious lumps: Dental abscess, sialadenitis
- Inflammatory non-infectious lumps: Crohn disease, orofacial granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, pyogenic granuloma
- Fibrous lumps: Fibroepithelial polyps, fibrous epulis
- Traumatic: Hematomas, mucoceles
- Benign neoplasms: Connective tissue tumors such as lipoma, neurofibroma, leiomyoma, etc. or Salivary gland tumors such as pleomorphic adenoma, canalicular adenoma, etc.
- Malignant neoplasms: Squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma. Malignant salivary gland tumors such as mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, etc. Occasionally metastatic malignancies can be seen in the mouth as lumps such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, etc.
- Viral lesions: Papillomas, common warts (verruca vulgaris), focal epithelial hyperplasia (Heck disease).
- Deposits: Amyloidosis
How are lumps and bumps in the mouth treated?
Examination of complete medical history is essential in managing lumps and bumps in the mouth as systemic disorders may be associated with intra-oral or facial swellings.
Extensive clinical examination by thorough inspection and palpation to determining the position, number, shape, size, color, discharge, mobility, consistency, tenderness, overlying mucosa, margins, ulceration, etc. are critical in establishing the correct diagnosis.
Blood tests may be required in few cases.
Imaging may be needed when lumps seem to arise from the jaws. Special radiographic investigations such as CT scans, MRI or ultrasonography may be indicated to show the full extent of the lesion and possible involvement of other areas.
Depending on the size of the swelling, most frequently, an incisional or excisional biopsy is performed to diagnose or treat the lumps and bumps of the mouth.
In some cases, correcting the underlying systemic problem could result in resolution of the lesions.