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Mouth Diseases

Lump in mouth

08/19/2008

Question:

I have a hard, lump in my mouth on the right cheek wall towards the front. It has been there for over a year but recently has grown and become painful. It bleeds occassionally, and I often bite it when eating. It this a cyst or a keloid scar?

Answer:

The most likely possibility would be something called a fibroma. Other names for this lump are irritation fibroma, bite fibroma or fibrous nodule. As implied by one of its names, these are often related to biting injury of the cheek (or lip or tongue).

Although there are other possibilities, from your description the lump sounds harmless (benign) but seems to be in the way. Having it removed by an oral surgeon can accomplish two things. First, it should make biting your cheek less likely. Second, you can get a microscopic diagnosis by having the tissue examined under a microscope by an oral pathologist. Hope this helps.

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Response by:

John R Kalmar, DMD, PhD John R Kalmar, DMD, PhD
Clinical Professor of Pathology
Associate Dean of Dentistry Administration
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University