Assessment
Questionnaire
Have a symptom?
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques to assess the symptom: Gum symptoms. These will include a physical examination and possibly diagnostic tests. (Note: A physical exam is always done, diagnostic tests may or may not be performed depending on the suspected condition) Your doctor will ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to openly share any pertinent information to help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.
It is also very important to bring an up-to-date list of all of your all medical conditions, medications including dosages, and names of numbers of any specialist you see.
Create your printable checklist by answering questions that your doctor may ask below:
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Why: to determine if acute or chronic.
Why: e.g. bleeding gums, swollen gums, tender gums, gum ulcers.
Why: e.g. nose, easy bruising of skin, painful swelling of joints - may help determine if due to bleeding disorder.
Why: may suggest acute Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) especially in children.
Why: when last saw a dentist?, dental care routine? Known dental caries? - may suggest gingivitis, periodontitis, Vincent's infection.
Why: generalized gum swelling may be a side-effect of pregnancy.
Why: e.g. leukemia , immunocompromised, malnutrition.
Why: medications that may reduce platelets and predispose to bleeding gums include chloramphenicol, cytotoxic drugs, gold, heparin, phenylbutazone, sulphonamides, quinine, quinidine, thiazide diuretics; medications that cause platelet function abnormalities and predispose to bleeding gums include aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories;medications that cause coagulation factor deficiency and predispose to bleeding gums include warfarin; phenytoin use in epileptic children, cyclosporine and nifedipine may cause dramatic gum enlargement.
Why: Is there a family history of easy bruising or bleeding.
Why: may indicate Scurvy if Vitamin C deficient which may cause gums to become swollen, teeth to become loose, drop out or become misaligned; malnutrition can increase the risk of Acute ulcerative gingivitis (Vincent's infection).
Why: e.g. lead intoxication or poisoning may cause a dark blue line positioned where the gums meet the teeth.
Why: increases risk of gingivitis.
Why: can reduce platelets and increase the risk of bleeding gums.
Why: may suggest bleeding disorder as cause of bleeding gums.
Why: may suggest malignancy such as leukemia which may also be associated with swollen and bleeding gums.
Why: may suggest acute ulcerative gingivitis (Vincent's disease).
Why: may suggest lupus erythematosus which can cause an autoimmune thrombocytopenia and bleeding gums.
Why: e.g. diabetes, certain drugs , Sjogren's syndrome, dehydration, anemia, HIV infection, irradiation - can increase the risk of dental caries and thus gingivitis and bleeding gums.
Why: e.g. tender, red, swollen and bleeding gums - Gingivitis is an inflammatory process caused by failure to remove bacteria in the form of plaque from the tooth-gum junction.
Why: e.g. nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting blood, dark blue line positioned where the gums meet the teeth.
Why: e.g. weakness, muscle pain, 'corkscrew hair', swollen spongy gums with bleeding and loosening of the teeth, spontaneous skin bruising, poor wound healing.
Why: e.g. tender, red, swollen, bleeding and ulcerated gums - occurs in the malnourished person with poor dentition and also in the immunocompromised person.
Why: e.g. fever, headache, sore mouth, shallow ulcers on the lining of the mouth, gums and tongue, blisters on hands, palms and soles.
The following list of conditions have 'Gum symptoms' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.
Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which include a symptom of Gum symptoms or choose View All.
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