Purple gums
 

Has anyone ever heard of purple, bruised gums, or had seen them before? I am under the care of a rheumatologist and a dentist. My gums and teeth are otherwise healthy, not swollen nor painful, just purple in multiple spots stemming from blood clots or bruising. There are many vertical linear blood vessels seen in the affected areas. The discoloration started towards the end of February and they are on the upper and lower outer gums.

My dentist, a clinical instructor, has seen 2 cases similar to mine and she doesn't know the cause. She told me not to worry about it since I have no bruising or discoloration anywhere else. My rheumatologist took me off autoimmune meds and the discoloration still persists. She has never come across purple gums. They are baffled, and so am I. Any insights would be very appreciated.

Yes, I have heard about this from my friend.

yes
sum tims can happn aftr dentl surgry its blood off yore gums it is
ir if uv had yore wisdm teef tk way espy if u all 4 tk way yore gum can be covd in bloodd dnt why say bloddss red mst tims it lks purpl it duz

Sometimes, this can be caused by the oxidation of tissue. I once had this in the corners of my mouth and this is what my g.p. (and an especially wonderful one at that!) told me was going on with me. This can happen when the health is not quite 'up to snuff (and mine wasn't at the time) and areas like the mouth are especially vulnerable to this.

I suggest taking some Ester-C with bioflavonoids (building up from 1000 to 3000 mg. per day, split throughout the day - "American Health" is a good brand) - as well as some vitamin E (say, 200 to 400 IUs a day - "Solgar" is a good brand) if you are able (and are without life-threatening blood-clotting issues like deep vein thrombosis, or heart and high blood pressure problems since then, E should only be taken under the care of a practitioner).

Also, have you tried a water pik used daily? Maybe add some stimulating oils to it like tea tree and/or spearmint and peppermint. This practice is excellent for revving up the circulation of the gums and to me, it sounds like your gums could benefit from that (even though they are otherwise healthy).

Also, are you getting enough protein, iodine, iron, B-9 (folic acid) and B-12?