Gum Boils: Causes, Categorization, Symptoms, And Treatment
Maybe your like
- Health Conditions
Health Conditions
All- Breast Cancer
- Cancer Care
- Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Digestive Health
- Eye Health
- Heart Health
- Menopause
- Mental Health
- Migraine
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Psoriasis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
- Sleep Health
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Weight Management
Condition Spotlight
All
Controlling Ulcerative Colitis
Navigating Life with Bipolar Disorder
Mastering Geographic Atrophy
Managing Type 2 Diabetes
- Wellness
Wellness Topics
All- CBD
- Fitness
- Healthy Aging
- Hearing
- Mental Well-Being
- Nutrition
- Parenthood
- Recipes
- Sexual Health
- Skin Care
- Sleep Health
- Vitamins and Supplements
- Women's Wellness
Product Reviews
All- At-Home Testing
- Men's Health
- Mental Health
- Nutrition
- Sleep
- Vitamins and Supplements
- Women's Health
Featured Programs
All
Your Guide to Glucose Health
Inflammation and Aging
Cold & Flu Season Survival Guide
She’s Good for Real
- Tools
Featured
- Video Series
- Pill Identifier
- FindCare
- Drugs A-Z
- Medicare Plans by State
Lessons
All- Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Essentials
- Diabetes Nutrition
- High Cholesterol
- Taming Inflammation in Psoriasis
- Taming Inflammation in Psoriatic Arthritis
Newsletters
All- Anxiety and Depression
- Digestive Health
- Heart Health
- Migraine
- Nutrition Edition
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Wellness Wire
Lifestyle Quizzes
- Find a Diet
- Find Healthy Snacks
- Weight Management
- How Well Do You Sleep?
- Are You a Workaholic?
- Featured
Health News
All- Medicare 2026 Changes
- Can 6-6-6 Walking Workout Help You Lose Weight?
- This Couple Lost 118 Pounds Together Without Medication
- 5 Science-Backed Ways to Live a Longer Life
- Morning Coffee May Help You Live Longer
This Just In
- 5 Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle
- How to Disinfect Your House After the Flu
- Best Vegan and Plant-Based Meal Delivery for 2025
- Does Medicare Cover Pneumonia Shots?
- Chromosomes, Genetics, and Your Health
Top Reads
- Best Multivitamins for Women
- Best Multivitamins for Men
- Best Online Therapy Services
- Online Therapy That Takes Insurance
- Buy Ozempic Online
- Mounjaro Overview
Video Series
- Youth in Focus
- Healthy Harvest
- Through an Artist's Eye
- Future of Health
- Connect
Find Your Bezzy Community
Bezzy communities provide meaningful connections with others living with chronic conditions. Join Bezzy on the web or mobile app.
All
Breast Cancer
Multiple Sclerosis
Depression
Migraine
Type 2 Diabetes
Psoriasis
Follow us on social media
Can't get enough? Connect with us for all things health.
Fitness
- Exercise
- Cardio
- Products
- Strength Training
- Yoga
- Holistic Fitness
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process
Gum Boils
Medically reviewed by Christine Frank, DDS — Written by Scott Frothingham — Updated on March 8, 2019- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Home remedies
- Risks
- Takeaway
A gum boil is an abscess that develops on the gums. It looks like a swollen bump and mainly results from a bacterial infection beneath the surface of the gum.
An abscess that develops on the gums is often referred to as a gum boil. They appear as swollen bumps on the gum.
The main cause of a gum boil is bacteria — often from plaque, food particles, or tooth decay — that leads to infection beneath the surface of the gum. Rarely, a gum boil is a symptom of oral cancer.
Based on where the gum boil is located, it’s categorized as one of three types:
- in the gum line: gingival abscess
- at the root of the tooth: periapical abscess
- in the supporting tissues of the teeth: periodontal abscess
Gum boil symptoms
Although some gum boils aren’t painful, most are. Pain is typically the first indication that you have a boil on your gums.
After experiencing pain, you might probe the area with your tongue or look in your mouth using a mirror and find a bump on your gum.
Other symptoms of gum boils can include:
- bad breath
- bleeding
- pus discharge
- an earache
- swollen gums
- sensitivity to hot or cold
- nausea
- a fever
Gum boil treatment
In many cases, a gum boil is the result of poor dental hygiene. Maintenance of good oral health is the best way to avoid gum boils.
If you already have one, your doctor may recommend taking antibiotics to resolve the infection. This is often prescribed in conjunction with:
- a deep cleaning by a dentist or dental hygienist if the cause is unhealthy gums
- a root canal by a dentist or an endodontist if the cause is tooth decay
- an adjustment to dentures by a dentist if the cause is poorly fitting dentures
Gum boil home treatment
Practitioners of natural healing recommend home remedies such as:
- gargling with salt water
- rinsing the mouth with hydrogen peroxide mouthwash (equal parts 3% hydrogen peroxide and water)
- rinsing the mouth with garlic juice
- applying clove oil to the affected area
- applying tea tree oil to the affected area
- applying a paste to the affected area made from:
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard oil
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Shop for hydrogen peroxide, clove oil, tea tree oil, mustard oil, and turmeric.
Avoiding treatment for a gum boil
A gum boil is an abscess resulting from a bacterial infection. If any abscess — oral or otherwise — isn’t treated, the infection can spread through the bones or the bloodstream to other body parts, which can be life-threatening.
Takeaway
Prevention through a regimen of good oral hygiene practices is the best guard against gum boils. If you find yourself with what you believe to be a gum boil, visit a dentist as soon as possible.
Not only can your dentist identify — or rule out — your gum boil as a potential symptom of oral cancer (if this is the rare cause), but they can also recommend treatment that will deal with any infection, hopefully before it spreads.
How we reviewed this article:
SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.(2018). Smoking, gum disease, and tooth loss.https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/periodontal-gum-disease.html
- National Institute of Dental andCraniofacial Research. (2018). Gum disease.https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/gum-disease/more-info
- Shweta. (2013). Dental abscess: Amicrobiological review.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3858730/
Share this article
Medically reviewed by Christine Frank, DDS — Written by Scott Frothingham — Updated on March 8, 2019Read this next
- Gum BiopsyMedically reviewed by Christine Frank, DDS
A gum biopsy is a procedure that removes gum tissue for analysis in a laboratory. Here’s what to expect.
READ MORE - Why Do My Gums Hurt?Medically reviewed by Christine Frank, DDS
If you’re experiencing gum pain, you may be asking yourself why your gums hurt. Painful gums are a common problem caused by a variety of conditions…
READ MORE - Are Sore Gums a Symptom of COVID-19?Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M.D., MPH
Learn whether sore gums may be a symptom of COVID-19 as well as other causes or conditions that may result in sore gums.
READ MORE - Cases of This Deadly Bacterial Infection are Rising in Japan, Experts Want to Know Why
Japan is experiencing a record-setting number of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) cases. STSS is a rare but severe complication of Group A…
READ MORE - What to Know About C. Diff (Clostridioides Difficile) Infection Recurrence
C. diff has a high rate of recurrence. Read more to find out why recurrence happens, who is most at risk, and how to reduce the risk of recurrence.
READ MORE - Listeria Outbreak Linked to Cheese Leads to Recalls from Trader Joe's, Costco
A listeria outbreak that has led to 26 illnesses has been connected to a cotija and queso fresco cheese. Rizo-López Foods has chosen to voluntarily…
READ MORE - Overview of Spontaneous Bacterial Empyema
Spontaneous bacterial empyema is an infection of fluid in your pleural cavity in the presence of a fluid build-up around your lungs.
READ MORE - 'Emily in Paris' Actress Ashley Park Developed Sepsis After Tonsillitis, What are the Signs and Symptoms
Ashley Park, one of the stars of Netflix’s "Emily in Paris" and "Beef," revealed last week that she was recuperating from septic shock after a bout of…
READ MORE - What Is Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus Aureus (MSSA)?Medically reviewed by Owen Kramer, MD
MSSA is a type of infection, commonly known as a staph infection. There are two main types of staph infection: MSSA and MRSA. MSSA can usually be…
READ MORE
Tag » How To Treat A Gum Boil
-
Gum Abscess: Pictures, Treatment, Symptoms, Causes, And More
-
Gum Boils: What They Are And How To Treat Them - Medical News Today
-
Gum Abscess: Treatment, Home Remedies, Symptoms, And More
-
Should You Worry About Gum Boils Or Gum Abscesses?
-
GUM BOILS, WHAT'´S THAT? - Dr. Alan Macdonald, Dentist
-
Gum Boils: Causes, Symptoms, And Treatment Options
-
How To Deal With Gum Boils - Honeysuckle Dental
-
How To Get Rid Of Gum Boils - Trey Kaliher, DDS
-
Gum Boil: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment | Colgate® Oral Care
-
How To Get Rid Of A Gum Boil: 10 Steps (with Pictures) - WikiHow
-
What A Gum Boil Could Mean For Your Dental Health | Colgate®
-
Dental Abscess - NHS
-
Gum Abscesses And Gum Boils: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
-
Tooth Abscess - Diagnosis And Treatment - Mayo Clinic