9 Uncommon Oral Health Problems You Didn't Know

There are many different types of mouth disorders that can occur inside or develop around your mouth. Some are painful or serious or unsightly to look at. In this article, we will be writing about the uncommon mouth disorders.

You will understand if the mouth disorder is serious or not if it doesn't go away within 10 days.

Signs And Symptoms Of Mouth Disorders

Following are the symptoms of mouth disorders, according to the American Dental Association:

1. Candidiasis

It is a fungal infection that occurs in the mouth or throat due to an overgrowth of yeast. The symptoms of candidiasis include white spots inside the mouth or on the tongue, difficulty in swallowing and sore throat.

2. Cold Sores

Cold sores are usually clusters of red, raised blisters outside the lips. These sores can also develop under the nose or under the chin and are slightly contagious as well.

3. Canker Sores

Canker sores are small, white or yellow centre lesions with a red border. And they usually appear in the mouth, inside the cheeks, on the tongue, lips, gums and throat area. These sores aren't contagious.

4. Tooth Abscess

Tooth abscess occurs when there is a bacterial infection in the nerve of the tooth. The symptoms include severe toothache, sensitivity to hot and cold beverages and foods, swollen lymph nodes and fever.

Uncommon Oral Health Problems

Tooth decay and gum disease, both of these are the most common oral diseases. But, there are other uncommon oral health problems that you should know of which are listed below:

1. Oral Herpes

Oral herpes is a contagious virus that infects many children orally as well as adults. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the symptoms of oral herpes are sore, swollen and red features affecting the gum tissue. You may also experience an increase in saliva flow and blisters inside your mouth.

However, these sores heal within 7 to 14 days, but the virus remains in the body inactively. Then on, it can become active again if you are under stress, exposed to the sun, are fatigued or have fever.

2. Dry Mouth

According to the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), without saliva, you will not be able to wash out any harmful bacteria from your mouth. Dry mouth can happen due to many reasons which include taking many medications that can affect the amount of saliva in your mouth, radiation treatments, and health conditions like AIDS.

Dry mouth can lead to bad breath, gum disease, mouth sores and a higher risk of tooth decay.

3. Temporomandibular Joint Pain

Temporomandibular joints are located on both sides of your head and it is through this action that you can close and open your mouth, speak, chew and swallow. But, if these joints and the surrounding muscles and ligaments do not work properly, it will result in painful temporomandibular joints disorder.

Joint pain is caused by poor jaw and tooth alignment or dislocation or from grinding your teeth, according to the American Dental Association.

4. Oral Cancer

Oral cancer ranks among the top three of all cancers in India. The main risk factors for oral cancer are alcohol use and tobacco, but excess of sun exposure can cause oral cancer too. Going for dental check-ups once in a while can prevent oral cancer.

5. Burning Mouth Syndrome

This oral condition occurs mostly in middle-aged women. The causes of burning mouth syndrome are hormonal changes, nutritional deficiencies, dry mouth, fungal infections and nerve damage. The symptoms are tingling or burning sensation on the tongue or inside the mouth, changes in taste or a dry or sore mouth.

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