Blood In Your Mouth: What Should You Do And Why?
If your mouth bleeds when you chew food, brush your teeth, or floss, you may blame it on gum disease. Although gum disease can produce blood in your mouth, you could have something else wrong with your mouth. Below are possible causes of the blood in your mouth and who you should see about them.
What's Causing Your Mouth to Bleed?
A number of things can cause your mouth to bleed or hurt at times, including using a toothbrush with hard bristles. If the bristles on your toothbrush are too hard, they can scrape, cut, or even bruise your gums. The lacerations can make your gums bleed.
Your mouth can also bleed if you have blood blisters. Blood blisters are pockets of blood that form on the soft tissues in your mouth. The blisters can develop if you accidentally bite and cut your mouth, if you develop an allergic reaction to something, or if you experience extreme stress and anxiety.
The causes above are just a couple of things that can make your mouth bleed. A dentist can find out why your mouth bleeds and treat it for you.
What Will a Dentist Do for You?
A dentist will generally perform an oral exam on your mouth to see why it's bleeding. The first thing a dentist may look at is your gums. Your gums can bleed if you have gum disease. If you do have gum disease, a dentist will do the following to treat you:
- clean your teeth and gums
- apply antibiotics to your gums
- monitor your condition
If a dentist doesn't see anything problems with your gums, they'll check your tongue and inner cheeks for blood blisters and lacerations. A dentist may give you antibiotics to clear up the wounds so that they heal. You may also need to change your brushing habits or toothbrush to prevent new wounds from forming in your mouth.
If you don't have blood blisters or lacerations in your mouth, a dental provider may check your throat and neck for open sores, lumps, and infection. Conditions such as throat cancer and tonsillitis may cause bleeding in your mouth if they go untreated. A dentist may treat these conditions themselves or refer you to specialist. If you must go to a specialist for treatment, a dentist may ask you to come back to their office at a later date.
If your mouth bleeds and you don't know why, schedule an appointment with a dentist immediately.