I am prone to canker sores from time to time and I just deal with them and let them heal when they will - usually in about a week. Well, I developed what I thought was a canker sore behind the backmost molar on the right side, on the inside (tongue side) about 4 weeks ago. I thought it was starting to heal and then I had chemo on July 6th, which set it back. It got painful again but seemed to start to heal again before my last chemo session on July 20th. This week it got so painful that it was even hard to drink water because when you drink, the tongue actually puts pressure on the jaw at that very spot. So, though I had an appointment to see the dentist on Monday, I decided to make an "emergency call" and go see him today. I did feel silly taking his time on a Saturday to deal with what I thought was a canker sore (there's not much they can do about those) but I wanted to make sure there wasn't an infection developing.
I'm glad I went today to see him instead of waiting another couple of days.
At first he thought it was a canker sore too because it was white like a canker sore. Then he touched it with his little metal tool. Then he pressed and tapped on it. Then he announced that it was a little bone fragment sticking partly out, causing all that pain, like a splinter.
Why did I have a bone fragment sticking out of my gum line? It's a mystery. I suppose it could be a remnant from when my wisdom teeth were taken out when I was in high school. It would be unusual for a fragment to sit still for 20 years, though. He said usually they become a problem within a year or two. I am returning to the office on Monday so he can take X-rays to see what else is going on in there. According to him this is highly unusual and it would be good to see if there are any more fragments floating around.
Bummer I didn't think to get a photo of it before I left.
