I think my mouth is doomed. I have MS, but I have also suffered from burning mouth syndrome for over a year, I have TMJ as well, and I had dry mouth (possibly due to being a mouth breather and taking Amitriptyline for the burning mouth).

In any event, I noticed a few months ago, the gums between my 2 bottom teeth (middle teeth) isn't 'protruding' like the others do, it's almost like it's being dented inward. Hrm. If I examine the area below the 4 middle teeth at the bottom, the outer 2 teeth of the 4 have a whitish color 'bump' under the skin that's raised. Not painful. My dentist looked at it and asked if they were painful, I told him no.

Below that, in the area where the bottom of the palate meets the bottom of the lip (the crevice), it's a darkened color. I've tried to find comparison photos on the net, without much luck. Most of the photos of dentistry that I find are extreme cases, nothing at all what mine looks like.

Now, I am a smoker. Yeah, I need to quit. I read that smoking can cause darkening of the gums. Could this explain the darkening in this area? The white things under my 2 teeth... someone suggested tori or torus. If you ask me, I'm more prone to believe that the gums in the area are receding.

Unfortunately I have not been able to return to the dentist since that appointment last summer, due to going through my MS diagnosis, and following that tons of other appointments with GP, neuro, chiro, etc.

I practice good oral hygiene. I brush with Biotene for the dry mouth. I have Biotene oral gel drops for the dry mouth. I drink a lot of juice and water. When I floss, my gums don't bleed at all, and I floss daily. The gums are otherwise pink and healthy looking.

I had a complete blood work up in February to rule out tons of things, including autoimmune diseases, diabetes, thyroid, and vitamin deficiencies. My neuro called me 'the picture of health' as far as blood work goes.

I'm completely baffled by the darkening in this 1 location in the crevice, and the white protrusions below these 2 teeth. Any ideas? None of that's painful. The burning tongue/insides of cheeks and around my upper gums is definitely no picnic, but Clonazepam and Amitriptyline is keeping the pain to a dull roar or non existent now, thankfully.

Oh, and I also have had geographic and fissured tongue since I was a child (seems acidic foods/drinks trigger these off) and canker sores (acidic, specifically orange juice, causes them without fail).

So my mouth is a bed of activity hehe!

Hi dmplaura,

Burning mouth syndrome can be caused by an imbalance of hormones or something not right with the endocrine system. It is often seen in middle aged women who are going through peri menopause/menopause. Sometimes autoimmune diseases cause an imbalance in hormones also. FYI... it is still not clear whether or not MS is an autoimmue disease or not.

Another thing that can contribute to burning mouth as well as MS are amalgam fillings. These are the silver colored fillings that contain high amounts of mercury. Some people are more sensitive to metals than others. Mercury has always been highly toxic to humans in any form at any time.

With regard to your lower front gum area...... if the gum appears to be lower on those 2 teeth than the others, then it could be recession. The white and darkened areas can just be your anatomy if your radiographs come up negative for any pathology.

It would behoove you to see your dentist for another checkup to re-evaluate those areas just in case something is brewing there.

And the smoking......... well you already know that's something you need to give up but only you can make up your mind to do that. :-))

Let us know what your dentist says at your next visit.

Bryanna

Thanks a ton Bryanna!

At 31, I hope I'm not going through that quite yet!

Btw, I only have 1 silver filling in my back molar on the right. Should I inquire about having that removed and changed to the newer materials used? Is it generally quite pricey? I know I have allergies to certain metals.