When you find yourself dealing with the irritation, discomfort, and general unpleasantness of gum boils, you probably don’t want to know much about them – you just want them gone. However, if you want to effectively treat gum boils and ensure that they never return, it’s in your best interest to get the scoop on where they come from and how to prevent them in the future. Here are just a few interesting facts about gum boils that everyone should know.

1. THEY COULD BE A SIGN OF MORE SERIOUS PROBLEMS

Gum boils often develop in response to oral health concerns like gingivitis or tooth decay. This means that you have to treat these underlying causes before gum boils will go away.

Your dentist will likely treat with antibiotics, as well as deep cleaning and possibly even a root canal or other procedures to remove infection and restore oral health. In rare cases, gum boils could be linked to oral cancer. It’s always best to see your dentist immediately when gum boils develop.

2. THEY CAN BE CAUSED BY FOOD PARTICLES

Issues like gingivitis and periodontitis could be the root cause of gum boils, but when you suffer such serious oral health issues, your gums can swell and separate from teeth. This leaves an opening for food particles, plaque, and bacteria to get beneath the gums and become trapped, festering and causing abscesses.

3. DENTURES CAN CAUSE THEM

Gum boils are not always the result of infection. In some cases, ill-fitting dentures that irritate gums can cause boils to form. The good news is that adjusting or refitting dentures can help to stop rubbing and irritation, giving boils a chance to heal on their own.

4. BAD BREATH IS A SYMPTOM OF GUM BOILS

There are all kinds of things that could cause bad breath, and infection is one of them. When you have gum boils, your breath could definitely begin to offend. Other symptoms include pain, swelling, redness, and bleeding of gums, as well as the pus-filled sacs that characterize boils in general.

5. THEY CAN BE SURGICALLY REMOVED

If improving oral health doesn’t get rid of gum boils, they’re not caused by infection, or you simply don’t want to wait for them to go away on their own, you could have them surgically removed. However, it’s probably best to speak with your dentist about potential risks and other treatment options before you leap right to surgical intervention.