What causes ridges and soreness of upper palate?
Patient: Good Morning.  My little who is almost 4 is complaining of having a sore mouth, when he's pointing to it, it's the roof of his mouth that he's point too.  When I look inside his mouth, the roof of it is rather lined, with ridges on on the gums.  Unsure whether this is normally how it is supposed to be, not having paid much attention to it before.   Wondered if this would be an infection?  Thank you. Doctor: Hi..Welcome to HCM..As per your complain it seems that your son has an inflammation in his mouth leading to Stomatitis and it can be most probably due to viral infection leading to Herpetic gingivostomatitis ..The pain and inflammation can be followed by eruption of sores or bumps..Other common cause can be Apthous stomatitis that can progress into eruption of canker sores..As far as ridges over the palate is concerned they can be Palatine rugue that is a normal anatomic structure that are folds of mucosa..I would however suggest you to consult a Pedodontist and get him evaluated for the cause of the symptoms and after a proper evaluation only treatment can be given..As of now to relieve the symptoms you can make him gargle with numbing mouthwash containing Lignocaine..You can also make him suck ice popsicles and give him soft and bland diet..Feed him with plenty of fluids and avoid spicy and hot foods..Hope this helps..Regards,