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What's this growth on my 7-month-old puppy's gums? Is it serious?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 7 months and 13 days old | 30 lbs

Just noticed this on my dogs gums. He’s 7 months old

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on August 14th, 2022

Thank you for the picture of the growth in Tucker's mouth, it's really helpful. That appears to be an oral papilloma, which are small, benign tumors of the mouth caused by the papilloma virus. These usually affect dogs under two years of age, and are transmitted from other dogs by direct contact, such as eating and drinking out of the same water bowl or greeting each other. Since canine oral papillomas are usually asymptomatic, treatment is often not indicated unless they become infected or become symptomatic. Infected papillomas require a course of antibiotics, and if a dog ends up having a lot of oral papillomas in their mouth, they can be surgically excised or treated with cryotherapy (freezing). I do recommend having him checked out by a vet for this to make sure it is an oral papilloma, as I cannot make a definitive diagnosis without seeing him person, so give his vet a call to make him an appointment. I hope this helps!

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