What are possible causes for painful gums around my lower back teeth?

It’s impossible to tell over the internet what might be the most likely cause of the heavy pain in your gum near the lower back teeth. However, from my experience, the possible causes are:

1. Pericoronitis ( inflammation of the gum partially covering a wisdom tooth)

2. Periodontal abscess ( severe localised gum infection caused by pre-existing gum disease)

3. A root canal infection spreading to the surrounding gum

4. A foreign body jammed into the gum pocket

In your case, home remedies and self medication may not work predictably to relieve you of your pain and therefore my strong recommendation is for you to seek professional help by your trusted dentist to diagnose the root cause of your problem, so that you can receive the correct treatment to relieve the pain.

I hope this information helps and i wish you a speedy recovery!

Kind Regards,

Dr Gerald Tan

I do understand how painful it was. It needs more accurate examination for diagnosis but normally there are quite a number of reasons causing the pain around lower back tooth.

There are two categories.

1. Gum-related

● Gum disease (gingivitis or periodontitis)

- this is a gum infection caused by poor oral hygiene

● Pericoronitis

- this is a gum infection caused by partially erupted widom tooth

● Periodontal abscess

- Gum infection casued by cracked tooth, reinfection of RCT, infection of nerves, etc.

- it often comes out as sinus tract.

● Traumatic lesions

- Scratches or damage by a foreign body

2. Tooth-related

● Tooth decay

- Decay also can cause pain to radiate to surrounding areas, especially when biting.

● Tooth grinding

- Grinding teeth can affect the periodontital ligament of tooth, or even can cause cracked tooth syndrome which could affect the necrotic nerve.

● Non-carious cervical lesions

- These occur because of abfraction or abrasion. This can cause pain especially when drinking cold drinks.

These are all from my experiences. Please do not hesitate to leave further questions. Thanks so much.

Warm regards,

Ryan Yun (Dr)